Fire Emblem: Rider Awakening
by Hurricane's Quill
Summary: Four siblings are sent on a wild ride to fight a war on a foreign continent. Along the way they discover the powers of Kamen Riders, and together, must unite as Riders and as a family to help the Shepherds face the oncoming trials that await them. Kamen Riders, Engage! Various pairings throughout.
1. Premonition: Invisible Ties

**Premonition: Invisible Ties**

I dream of battle.

I dream of knights and soldiers, clad in blue and dressed in armor, wearing bucklers and carrying lances, marching to war on an empty field. Cavaliers astride horses gallop forward to meet them, brandishing blades. Arrows fly, and soldiers fall, pierced in multiple places by enemy shafts.

I dream of destruction.

I dream of dark spirits, flying through a burning village, its villagers either having fled or dead on the ground. I see them chase a butterfly, trying to catch it, but as I reach out, they are already gone. Somewhere, I see the shadow of a dark dragon, roaring a roar I cannot hear but feel it shake the earth, glaring at me with contemptuous red eyes as dark fire rips through the air. All around me, the world burns, but as I take this in, a lone masked figure dashes by me. Male or female, I can't tell on first glance, but he runs forward towards a column of light in the distance...

Light washes over me, and when my eyes return to normal, I see the figure once again. He is fighting with another figure, a young man with dark-blue hair wearing a black-blue tunic with a white cloak slung over one shoulder. The swords they wield are identical, as they swing their swords, fighting enemies only they can see. Somewhere, figures fall from a magical circle, but I can't see what they are.

A woman, with sand-brown hair in curls and wearing a regal green robe, stands upon a cliff face, and she closes her eyes as a single tear runs down her cheek.

Colors swirl, and all of a sudden I can see the young man again. He stands on the balcony of a castle, a faceless woman in a white dress holding a newborn child in her arms. I only see it for a moment before a new vision appears, as the young man, the masked figure from before, and a new figure face off against the dragon I thought I saw before, this one being another masked man, but he wears a black trenchcoat with red on the inside, red and silver body armor, and a red helmet reminiscent of a ring.

Wait a minute…but that would be…

* * *

"RAAAAAAAH!"

Chrom leaps by me, swinging his Falchion at Validar, the sorcerer dodging the strikes easily as he stepped back from the flurry of strikes. As Chrom engages him directly with that mighty sword of his, I cut across, trying to flank him as touch a button on the WizarGun, the hand opening.

**COME ON A SHOOTING, SHAKE HANDS! COME ON A SHOOTING, SHAKE HANDS!**

"Over here, Validar!" I called, waving the ring on my left hand to activate it.

**FLAME! SHOOTING STRIKE!**

Taking aim with the weapon, I adopt the shooting stance my grandpa taught me as I hold the weapon with both hands. With Validar, I'm taking no chances. This bastard dies. Tonight. I pull the trigger, initiating Flame Dragon Style's Shooting Strike. A red magical circle appeared before the barrel, and fire in the form of a dragon's head shoots at Validar, but Validar vanishes from sight, hitting empty air.

"Up there!" Chrom warns, pointing up. Validar had teleported to the roof, and proceeded to unleash a blast of dark magic from his new vantage point at Chrom. Chrom rolls away, the attack hitting just a second behind him, missing him by inches. I quickly swap rings on my right hand, giving the lever on my belt a one-two shift.

**VERY NICE! SPECIAL! FABULOUS! **

At once, a dragon's head appears on my chest, blasting a stream of fire at Validar. However, Validar vanishes once again, leaving the Dragon Breath to hit empty air.

"What!?" I ask, looking around. "You cheat, no teleporting!"

Suddenly, another blast of dark magic, this time off to my right, taking me down under the crushing force it unleashes. Whipping my head, I see Validar had warped in behind me, striking me just out of peripheral vision with the spell, and now is preparing to finish me off.

"Ryan, hang on!" Chrom dashes into view, swinging Falchion. It does the trick, allowing me a chance to get up, but Chrom instead receives the blast Validar had prepared, sending him flying into a nearby column. Chrom struggles to get up as Validar tries the finishing spell again, but I'm already one step ahead of him as I swap rings on my right hand yet again, and give the belt another one-two twitch.

**BIG! PLEASE!**

A magical circle forms yet again, and I shove my own arm into it. On the other side, my arm reappears, enlarged to the size of one of the columns that Chrom had just destroyed, and took the blast for him. Validar snorts, glaring at me with red eyes. Behind my helmet, I smirk at him, retracting my arm as I wag my finger at him with my free hand. "Not this time, buddy."

Chrom rejoins me, out of breath and rather beat-up, but otherwise unharmed. "You alright, Ryan?"

"Tired, but I'll live. Thanks for the save," I reply.

"Same to you," Chrom nods, turning back around to face the sorcerer giving us the stink-eye across the hall. "This is it. Our final battle. You're one of us, Ryan, and no 'destiny' can change that."

"Hah!" I snort derisively. "Destiny's for losers. Now what say we finish this guy off and call it a day? _ is waiting for me and I bet she's cooking pizza."

Wait a minute. Why did my hearing drop off there? I'm pretty sure someone's name was supposed to go there.

Chrom doesn't appear bothered. "If we get out of this, there'll be feasting for weeks, I guarantee it! Now come, my friend! The final battle is at hand!"

"Gya ha ha ha!" cackles Validar. "Fools! Struggle all you want! You cannot unwrite what is already written!"

"We have hope in a future we write ourselves! And I'll die before I let you destroy our hopes!" I counter, swapping my ring on my left hand with a prismatic one and shifting the lever on my belt again. "So get ready to lose everything, Validar!" With that, I scan the ring.

**INFINITY! PLEASE! HI SUI FU DO BOU JABA BYU DOGON!**

As the belt chants, diamonds swarm around me, changing my form from black and red to silver, with prismatic stones in the armor and helmet, activating my ultimate form: Infinity Style. I hold out my hand and summon Infinity's signature weapon: the AxCalibur, a weapon that can shift between sword and axe.

"Time to bring down the curtain, Chrom! Go get him!" I said.

"Right!" Chrom said, taking off towards Validar. Validar roared, unleashing his magic once again. Chrom zipped to the side, the attack missing him and colliding with me, but Infinity's defense carries through and withstands the attack, as I quickly touch the hand on AxCalibur's ax head.

**HIGH TOUCH! SHINING STRIKE!**

Validar attempts to cast again, but Chrom is faster, slicing off his hand with a slice of Falchion, followed up with a stab right through the chest. Validar roars in anger, shoving him away with the weapon still in his body, but it's already too late. As Chrom had been attacking, the AxCalibur had been growing in size.

**KIRA KIRA KIRA! KIRA KIRA KIRA!**

Jumping into the air, I rear back the enlarged AxCalibur and then bring it down on Validar. The man screamed as the strike crashes down, causing multiple explosions around him. The finisher done, the AxCalibur resumes its natural size.

"And…down ya go," I finish, blowing out a sigh.

Chrom grins, but suddenly, something catches my attention.

"Ggh…this isn't over!" Validar snarled, blazing dark magic. "DAMN YOU BOTH!"

With that, Validar, still alive after the Shining Strike and what should've been a fatal blow from Falchion, unleashed one final spell right at Chrom, a final parting shot to take Chrom to Hellgates with him. Chrom turns around and sees it, but even with a Kamen Rider's reactions Chrom wouldn't be able to get out of the way. With nothing else for it, I shove him back with a hip toss, putting myself in the incoming strike instead. This time, the attack smashes into me with almighty force, sending me right to the ground.

For a moment, nothing. And then…

"…are you alright?"

Chrom dashes into view, helping me into a sitting position as the ringing in my ears fade away. "Yeah…thank God for Infinity Style's high defense, or that might have been fatal."

Chrom grins, jerking his head in the direction of Validar's body, which disappeared as the embers of his last gasp attack faded away with his body. "We did it. Thanks to you, we were able to carry the day."

"Hooray…!" I gave a tired cheer. "Now, get me up. You promised a week-long feast and I'm not about to miss it…or _ for that matter."

Again with the drop off in my hearing! I really should see a healer about that.

Chrom grins. "I don't intend to disappoint. We can rest easy, now that…"

I don't hear the rest, as suddenly, my head throbs, and my vision turns blood red. "What the-!?"

"What's wrong?" Chrom asks. I'm hearing things like I'm underwater, and my head is absolutely killing me. What the hell did Validar put in that last attack?

"Get away from me!" I shouted. There's something seriously wrong here, as my body convulses against my will and my headache reaches astronomical levels of pain. What the hell is going on!?

Despite my warning, Chrom stays nearby. "Ryan, what's wrong!? Talk to me, friend-ulk!"

Chrom grimaces, and blood washes over my armor, hot through the suit and against my skin. At once, my symptoms vanish, but then I see what happened…somehow, the AxCalibur in my hand had stabbed Chrom right through his stomach, the weapon still crackling with energy in a mortal wound.

Then it hits me: somehow, some way, I did that to him.

I just killed Chrom with my own weapon.

I just committed cold-blooded murder of the man I just fought alongside.

I get up, my suit vanishing into white sparkling magic as Chrom falls over, the last vestiges of shock still on his face fading away to be replaced with stoic resignation as the blood drains from my face to be replaced with panicked numbness.

"Chrom!" I quickly catch him before he hits his head on the stone floor. "Chrom, I'm so sorry! Oh man oh man oh man oh man…oh sweet Jesus, what have I done!?"

"This…isn't your fault…" Chrom groaned, blood dribbling out his mouth.

"Don't try to talk man, just try and stay with me!" I said, removing my coat and quickly folding it to help staunch the bleeding, but as I try to yank out the AxCalibur out of his body, he stops me, grabbing my wrist. "Chrom, please!"

"Just…promise me…you'll escape from this place…please, go…!" Chrom said, before his grip on me fell away and his head lolled to one side in my lap. Chrom was dead.

He was dead, and I killed him.

"No…Chrom, no…Chrom, don't do this to me! CHROM! CHROOOOOOOM!" I shouted, panic being replaced with absolute despair as, somewhere in it all, I could hear all of hell laughing in derision…


	2. Prologue: The Verge of History

**Prologue: The Verge of History**

"Chrom…we have to do _something_…"

"…what do you propose we do?"

"I…I dunno…"

I start to open my eyes, feeling like I'd just come down with a bad case of the flu. There were two figures in front of me, one appeared to be a female considering she had two crazy pigtails in her hair, but the first I couldn't make out, mostly because of the very bright light that was obscuring their faces. Eventually, my eyes adjusted as the light gave way to blue skies, and I was able to see them properly. One was a young girl with dirty-blonde hair in two pigtails, wearing a yellow dress and carrying a short stave. The other was a dark blue-haired man in a black tunic and pants, with a silver shoulder guard on his left shoulder with a white cape that hung off it, and on his other shoulder is birthmark of some sort.

So I knew I was alive. Then came the splitting headache. "Oooow…yeesh…"

"I see you're awake now," says the young man, turning his head towards me.

"Hey there…" says the girl, leaning over to look at me.

"Hey…hi…um…" was all I could manage around my throbbing head. That, and it felt like I'd been asleep for a while, so my mind wasn't completely at the ready.

"There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know," the young man says, offering his hand. "Give me your hand."

I reach up, grabbing his hand with my right. As I do, I notice there's a strange mark on the back of it, three pairs of eyes in a V-formation. That's weird, where did I get that? Are such things normal where I am? Then I'm hauled to my feet by my new friend. Guy has some serious strength, as I'm taller than him and probably more heavy-set.

Taking stock of my new surroundings, I find I'm in a large meadow on a pretty countryside, like something I would see in a picture book. I also spot a third figure nearby, standing at ease next to a horse. He's a Great Knight, with short brown hair and wearing light blue and khaki armor. Wait, how did I know the Great Knight bit? I've never even met this guy, or any other Great Knights as far as my memory goes!

"These were nearby. Are they yours?" the girl holds out a pair of square half-rim glasses.

"I think so…" I said, donning them. I guess they must be mine, because everything past that Great Knight seems in focus now. "Yup. Thanks."

The girl grins. "No problem."

"You alright?" the first guy asks me.

"Yeah. My head's killing me, but I'll live," I reply, massaging the center of my forehead. "Thanks for the help, Chrom."

"Ah, then you know who I am?" Chrom said with a hint of surprise in his voice.

"Yes…no…maybe?" I reply hesitantly. "It just…came off the tongue…"

Wait a minute. Chrom. That name. I've heard it before! That guy I was fighting alongside was named Chrom…then that would mean this is the guy that…I'm going to murder…

Damn. Damn. Damn damn.

"Hm. How curious," observed Chrom. "Tell me, what's your name and what brings you here?"

Oh, that's easy. "My name is…is…"

Nothing comes to mind. Oh God, I can't remember my name. How could I forget my goddamn name? Geez, this Chrom guy must think I'm a complete idiot!

"You don't remember your own name?" Chrom asks.

"Look, Chrom, I don't know what's going on right now, my head is one great big mess of pain and I can't think straight worth a lick," I say back. "So…I dunno if I forgot it or…hell, I don't even know where I am."

"I've heard of this!" the girl chirps. "It's called amnesia!"

Oh man, amnesia? What a fine time to have amnesia.

"It's called a load of pegasus dung," the Great Knight says from his position nearby. "We're to believe you remember milord's name, but not your own?"

"Really?" I asked, giving the Great Knight a dull glare. "Well, why don't you tell me how good your memory is when you feel like you took a hatchet to the skull!"

Chrom quickly cuts in. "…well, what if it IS true, Frederick? We can't leave him here, alone and confused. What sort of Shepherds would we be then?"

"Just the same, milord, I must emphasize caution," said Frederick. "'twould not do to let a wolf into our flock."

Chrom nodded. "Right then…we'll take him back to town and sort this out there."

"Whoa, whoa. Are you deciding all this for me? If I could be so kind as to interject…" I begin.

"Peace, friend. I promise we'll hear all you have to say back in town. Now come," Chrom says reassuringly.

I sigh. "Well, when you put it like that…"

* * *

The trip is largely a quiet one. Chrom and his lady friend take the lead down the beaten path towards some nearby hamlet I can see over the tops of the hills. I'm in the middle, with Frederick on sweep, ostensibly to kill me if he senses any kind of funny business. I guess someone needs to be the skeptic in this Scooby-Doo outfit, but if Fredrick stares at me any more than he has already he's going crisp off all my hairs on the back on my neck.

"…so, what is the nature of our current relationship, anyhow?" I ask. "Am I like a prisoner of war or something?"

Chrom laughs. "Hah! You'll be free to go once we establish you're no enemy of Ylisse."

"Ill-isse?" I sound out, tilting my head. "I take it this is where I've ended up, then."

"You've never heard of the halidom?" That killjoy, Frederick, asks from behind me. "Ha! Someone pay this actor. He plays _quite_ the fool. The furrowed brow is _especially _convincing…"

Seriously, dude? Go die in a ditch.

"Frederick, please," Chrom sighs. "This land is known as the Halidom of Ylisse. Our ruler, Emmeryn, is called the exalt. That said, I suppose proper introductions are in order. My name is Chrom…but then, you already knew that. The delicate one here is my little sister, Lissa," Chrom gestures to the girl next to him.

"I am NOT delicate!" Lissa snaps at her brother, pouting. "Hmph!" Turning to me, her pout is replaced with a sweet smile. "Ignore my brother, please. He can be a bit thick sometimes. But you're lucky the Shepherds found you. Brigands would've been a rude awakening!"

"Shepherds? You tend sheep? …dressed in full armor?" I ask. The question feels stupid off my tongue. I feel like the one slow kid in school.

Chrom simply gives a snort and a smile. "Heh, it's a dangerous job. Just ask Frederick the Wary here."

"A title I shall bear with pride," said Fredrick, smiling probably for the first time today as he takes a little bow. "Gods forbid one of us keeps an appropriate level of caution."

I groan, kneading the bridge of my nose. "I know you're only doing your job, man, but could you not be so condescending about it? You're starting to sound like my mother."

Wait, I have a mother? What's her name? …nothing. Dammit. That'll teach me to get my hopes up.

"I have every wish to trust you, stranger, but my station mandates otherwise," Frederick counters solemnly.

"Okay, okay, I get it. Relax," I say, trying to change the subject. "…the name's Ryan. Ryan King."

There was a slight pause.

"Oh wait, did I just remember my name, finally?" I ask, suddenly realizing what I did. "Yay me."

"Ryan…King? Is it foreign?" asked Chrom.

"Probably is. I mean, look what he's wearing! I don't think any Ylisseans dress like he does!" Lissa said.

Chrom chides Lissa for being rude, but she does have a point. Compared to Frederick, who looks like he's from _A Knight's Tale_, my clothes are very radically different. Looking down, I see I'm wearing a black shirt that, upon further inspections, has the words "Phoenix Coyotes" on it. Who are the Coyotes? Somebody important where I'm from? I'm also wearing dark wash jeans, and a pair of black, red, and white shoes with the word "Feivue" on them.

Yeah, I can already feel the awkwardness under my skin, but something else catches my attention, something that probably was also new: a belt buckle in the shape of a hand. As I thumb my hand into my pockets, hoping nobody else would notice it, I feel something inside.

"…ah well, we can discuss it later," Chrom dismisses it, calling me away from my self-discovery. "We're almost to town. Once we…"

"Chrom, look! The town!" Lissa suddenly cuts in, pointing over the hill. The town that we had been approaching had the tell-tale smoke of fires burning, and not something isolated.

"Jesus Helsinki Christ…" I mutter, genuflecting. Fredrick stares at me, and I give him a look and shrug of "what?"

"Damn it! The town is ablaze! Those blasted brigands, no doubt…" Chrom snarls. "Frederick! Lissa! Quickly!"

"What about him?" asks Frederick, gesturing towards me.

"Unless he's on fire as well, it can wait!" Chrom snaps.

Frederick doesn't even flinch. "Aptly put, milord."

"Let's go already!" said Lissa.

"Whoa, hey, don't just…leave me…" I begin, but they're already gone before I can finish. "Dammit." As I take off after them, I pull out what was in my pocket: a ring. A very large ring, but largely worthless, as it only has a depicture of that hand belt that I apparently now have. Are they connected?

_The Wizard Rings contain magical power. A modern-day user of magic uses their power on both his hands, turning despair into hope…_

Where the hell did that voice come from?

…why the hell do I care. There's people in trouble down there, and I need to get in there!

* * *

I dash through the gate and past burning buildings, already tasting the acrid smoke in my mouth as it enters through my nose, as bandits wreak havoc without noticing me in the chaos. By the look of things, these brigands had only shown up a little ahead of us. Hopefully Chrom and the others…and myself, by extension…weren't too late. Rounding the corner through a fire-less alley, I spot Chrom and the others ahead.

"Gwa ha ha! Get to it lads!" the leader cackles from his position outside the church, flinging one of his torches through the stained glass. "Grab anything shiny and put the rest to the torch! We gots an example to set for these Ylissean types! Ain't that right, lass!" he adds to a fallen maiden not far away, as he went to grab her.

"S-stay away from me! Please! Someone! HEEELP!" the maiden screams, noticing the sinister look in the man's eyes. Thankfully, Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick drop into the group's sight right in the nick of time to prevent anything major.

"Hey boss!" A nearby ruffian called. "We got company by the market!"

He looks over and spots us coming in from the southwest part of the market square, drawing his attention off the maiden as we entered. "Do-gooders, huh? Take 'em out and then get back to pillaging!" he called, his attention swayed long enough for the maiden to beat a hasty retreat from the area.

"Chrom, we have to stop them!" said Lissa.

"Don't worry. After today, these bandits won't be bothering anyone ever again," Chrom said solemnly, drawing his sword.

"Oy! Chrom!" I call, skidding to a halt as I catch my breath. I don't remember ever running so far…at least, as far as I know.

"Ryan!" Chrom spots me and quickly comes over. "You followed us! Why?"

"You're gonna need my help clearing these guys out. I'm no expert in battles, but I do know a little something-something when it comes to swords," I reply. "So please, add my strength to yours…that is how you say it in Ylisse, right?"

Chrom nods in understanding. "Of course, strength in numbers. Just stay near me!"

"Will do," I said. Honestly, I didn't tell them I was already feeling a bit funny in my stomach, but I'm already committed to helping out, so there's no going back now.

"Remember, Ryan, we face practiced thieves and murderers," Frederick said, pulling out a lance from a nearby saddlebag as Chrom hands me a rapier. "They will grant us no quarter. It's kill or be killed."

"Got it. Wasn't expecting them to, anyway," I nodded.

"This is what we'll do: we cover this marketplace in two groups. I'll take Lissa and head around this side of the marketplace," Chrom said, gesturing to a nearby market stall and pointing across from us with his sword. "Frederick, you'll take Ryan and cut across, so we can take them on two sides. If you get hurt, call for Lissa and she'll help you."

I wonder about how Lissa will help when she's armed with a staff compared to the swords Chrom and I have, but I let it slide for the time being. Maybe she's carrying potions are something.

"Frederick, I assume you'll keep Ryan safe and assist him if necessary?" Chrom asked his Great Knight retainer.

"I am," Frederick said. With his earlier skepticism, I don't exactly feel confident.

"Very well! Good luck!" Chrom said, taking off with Lissa down the way as Frederick takes the lead across the square with me close behind him. I remember picking up a rapier and taking some lessons from somebody once: it's a weapon that's best suited for stabs, but can also be used to slash in a pinch. They're particularly good against infantry, so soldiers, anything on a horse or wearing armor should be my main targets/.

"What!? Ylissean knights!?" I hear someone shout on the other side of a stall. One of the brigands, a Myrmidon, apparently, apparently saw Chrom coming with his weapon, and tried to fend him off, but he misses wildly with his katana and gets treated to a well-timed slash to the chest. I dash forward, hoping to finish the guy off myself, but Frederick is faster, as his horse surges past me and guts the man on his lance, quickly returning to a resting position by the time I joined them there.

"You kids got a lot of nerve getting in on our party…" growls an axe wielder nearby, quickly covering the distance between us with designs on going after Lissa, but I quickly intervene, swirling the rapier in my hand in a few circles.

"Because it needs to be shut down before you break any more lamps!" I retort, quickly trying to lunge at him, but he doesn't so much as dodge as bull me aside with his shoulder, staggering me, before swinging his axe. I throw myself backwards, but it's not fast enough as the strike ends up hitting my shoulder. Pain surges through my off-arm as a sickening squelch signals the hit, and as I scream in pain, trying to counter with a move of my own, but Chrom is faster, chopping into the man's spine from his flanking position near me. As he falls to his knees, I stab into his chest, finishing him off.

There. I did it. First kill. And already my stomach goes into overdrive at the smell of blood in the air and the sight of my own around the axe still buried in my shoulder, but I try to hold it in as Chrom puts his arm around me, saying something muddled. He then yanks the axe out of my shoulder and tosses it away, letting blood flow freely down my sleeve and arm, the pain in my body skyrocketing higher. "Lissa! Ryan needs help!"

Lissa dutifully comes over and raises her staff, pointing it at my shoulder as I struggle to maintain my footing in Chrom's arms. My wound burns for a moment or two, and then I feel it close up as energy surges through my body. Chrom lets go, and I thankfully stay upright, although my stomach doesn't feel much better.

"Are you okay?" Lissa asks. "Feeling better?"

"My arm feels better…but my stomach? Ask me again in ten minutes," I said breathlessly, trying to stave off my eventual vomiting for after it was over.

"Just keep breathing, friend," said Chrom. "We're not out of the woods yet."

I groan. "How many more?"

"Two, maybe three."

"GREAT," I snark.

One of the those two or three show up, a Mage garbed in a red cloak and a floppy hat and carrying a book. "This oughta shut you up! Fire!"

Fire erupts from a magical circle, zipping past my head. Frederick answers by taking his horse forward into a charge, and silences the mage with another stab of his lance. Chrom takes me and Lissa onward after Frederick, as another Myrmidon comes in, this time going right for me. I backpedal, trying to keep my rapier pointed at him, and when he slashes, this time I catch him in a parry. As he breaks off, I lunge, this time jabbing my rapier point into his throat for a fatal wound. The man falls over dead.

"Well done, Ryan!" Chrom says as I come back.

"I am so not used to this," I sigh, crossing the bridge to the church where the bandit leader is still trying to maintain an offensive, but his guys are wheat before the scythe that is Frederick.

Chrom claps me on the back, which makes me nearly blow chunks under my steadily churning stomach. "You've lent us your strength, Ryan, and that makes you a friend. Having an ally by my side gives me courage."

I nod, but suddenly the leader gets my attention. "Here, sheepy sheepy! Come to the slaughter, 'cause Garrick's getting hungry!"

"Oh, you are just _charming_," I grunt. "Come and get it, then! Let's see how well you fare against-JEEZUS!" My opening remarks are cut off by Garrick's axe, which scythes right past my head and somehow arcs back around like a boomerang.

"Be careful, Ryan, he has a hatchet! It can be used as a ranged weapon as well as a close one!" Frederick shouted. Well, thanks for the advice, Captain Obvious.

Chrom takes the opportunity to close on Garrick, swinging his blade once more, but Garrick ducks one swing, jumps back against another, and then chops, the axe ringing off Chrom's shoulder guard. I dash forward, trying to catch him off-guard with a flying lunge, but Garrick swings his axe, and my rapier flies out of my hands in two pieces. My hand's numb from the shock of being disarmed, and I jump back from another slash and the hatchet goes flying right over my head once again.

Frederick finally gets involved, galloping in on that steed of his and jamming his lance in Garrick's direction, but Frederick actually misses him and almost goes flying through the doors of the church. Chrom comes barreling from the other side. "Get back!" he shouts at me, sword and hatchet cleaving empty air as they dance a dance of death. Eventually, Garrick gets lucky and plants a strike right into Chrom's other shouder, but while Chrom winces, he doesn't falter, and proceeds to grab him with his free hand to gut him with his sword. With an additional shove, the mortally wound Garrick collapses to the ground.

Lissa, having been on the bridge the whole time, dashes in to heal Chrom. "Chrom! Are you okay?"

"I'll live. It's not bad," Chrom nods, rubbing the spot where his sister had healed him. "Job well done, everyone. This should put an end to him."

"No…this is the end of YOU!" Garrick suddenly gets up, flames surrounding him. He is replaced with a large dark red armored figure, his face concealed behind a masked helmet in the form of a wolf's head. Wait a second, what!? What the hell is this!?

"What!?" Chrom asks, mirroring my own surprise, preparing his sword again.

"What foul demon is this!?" I hear Frederick shout.

"Now I'm mad!" the thing that was Garrick shouts. "This time I, the Fenrir Phantom, will put an end to you!"

Fenrir Phantom? Why does that sound so familiar to me? I would be more freaked out by this, but somehow, there's something in the back of my mind that tells me I've seen this kind of thing before. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like my friends have. Chrom dashes forward to take on the Phantom, but the Phantom reacts and dodges away, raking at him with claws that send him to the ground.

"Chrom!" Lissa screams.

I hear the galloping hoofbeats of Frederick and his horse dashing, and the Great Knight tries to impale him on his lance, but while the strike connects, sparks fly and the attack does nothing. Before he can react, the Phantom pulls stones out from nowhere and tosses them in Frederick's direction. At once, about ten gray-skinned beings jump out of the ground, trying to attack him en masse. Frederick starts fighting, backing away while stabbing at any he can, but he's not going to last against such overwhelming numbers.

I get up, raising my fists as I try to protect Lissa, but I only get one missed punch in before he rakes across my stomach, sending me to the ground, clutching at my wound as he continues towards Lissa. It's not deep enough to kill me, but definitely enough to take me out of combat.

"No…get away…!" Lissa says in fear, backing up against an outside wall of a house.

The Phantom cackles. "This is what I love most about pillaging! The look of despair! It's simply enthralling! Come on, give in to your despair, little girl, and in time you'll become just like one of us!"

Lissa screams, and as it rings in my ears and in my head, so does the word despair. Wait a minute! Despair! What did that voice say? Something about despair, and turning despair into hope? And something about rings. Hold on, the rings! I forgot about the rings still in my pockets! I fumble around, grabbing the one with the hand on it. As I inspect it, I suddenly begin to remember.

Wizard Rings.

Wizard Rings were used by Kamen Rider Wizard.

And if I have these rings, then that belt buckle I found out I have…oh my.

Revitalized by the sudden conclusion my brain makes, I get to my feet and call out at the top of my voice, "HEY! GET AWAY FROM HER, FANGFACE!"

The Fenrir Phantom turns around, and as I don the hand ring on my right hand, I hold it over the belt buckle, silently praying that it was going to have the desired effect.

**DRIVER ON! PLEASE!**

At once, something surges around my waist, and the belt buckle turns into an actual belt, silver with the hand part on a circular module. Yes! Yes! My belt became the WizarDriver! If the thing acts like it does when Haruto activates it, then maybe, just maybe…

I touch a side of the belt and give it a flip, which puts the hand on the other side and the Driver begins to chant.

**SHABADOOBIE TOUCH TO HENSHIN! SHABADOOBIE TOUCH TO HENSHIN!**

"What the hell!?" asked the Phantom. "What the hell is that thing?"

"I think you should be more worried about what I am…" I say casually, donning the big red ring on my left hand. "Or more importantly…what I'm about to be." I breathe in, then out, and then say the magic word.

"HENSHIN!"

**FLAME! PLEASE! HI! HI! HI HI HI!**

A bright red magical circle appears off to one side, crossing over my body. It burns slightly, but it feels more like stepping out into the sun on a hot day. As it crosses, my clothes are transformed. Gone is my now-bloody shirt and jeans and shoes, and in their place is a long black trenchcoat with red on the inside. My chest now sports a red and silver breastplate, and I touch at my head, feeling a large helmet.

I've done it. I am now Kamen Rider Wizard!

…how I remembered all this information in my amnesiac state, I may never know.

"Whoa…" Lissa says.

I look behind me, and I see Chrom getting up. "Ryan? Is that you?"

"What are you?" the Phantom asks. "What in the hell are you!?"

"I'll tell you who I am. I am the dawn that follows the darkness. I am the one who turns despair into hope! I am the ringed magician! I am Ryan King! I am Kamen Rider Wizard!" I reply.

For a moment, I try to process how the hell I came up with the idea to say that in the middle of a fight. Then the Phantom pounces on me, and I snap back to reality. Blocking the Phantom's claws, I punch his face a couple of times before throwing him off to the side. Chrom rolls away as the Phantom lands next to him, as he shouts over at his minions, "Ghouls, get over here! Get rid of this guy first!"

Ah. So now I'm his biggest threat. Good.

The Ghouls, armed with spears of their own, break away from Frederick and try to swarm me on en masse. Turning away two spear thrusts from the first two, I smack a third with a punch to the head before side-kicking the one on the other side of me. Yet another tries to stab me, but I dodge, trap the polearm in my armpit, then take him down with an inside kick to the head. Grabbing the weapon I'd just stopped, I spin, smacking another Ghoul trying to get behind me before I stab the next one, causing him to explode.

One down.

I stab another, breaking off from the main melee. Down he goes. Two down. I throw the spear into the melee, taking another Ghoul out. Three down. Chrom is back in the fight, wielding a different sword than before, one that takes out another Ghoul that was going for Lissa. There's four.

I need a weapon to help even the odds. I grab a ring that appears to have a sword on it, swap it off my right hand, and shift the lever to change sides and scan the ring.

**CONNECT! PLEASE!**

A magic circle appears next to me, and I reach into it and grab the first thing I feel, which is the handle of a gun. Aw yeah.

Pulling out the WizarGun, I start blasting, taking out two more Ghouls. That's six. Chrom receives another quick heal from Lissa, and he takes off, cleaving number seven in half. Frederick, having now regrouped from the initial swarm, gallops into the fray, piercing Ghoul number eight with his lance. Quickly pulling a hidden extension above the barrel, a blade springs into place, turning the WizarGun into the WizarSword. One Ghoul charges, and I dash forward to meet him. I hop to the side, and slash him as he passes by, taking him out. Chrom takes out the last one with a downward cleave, and then resets his position, hefting his new sword in the Phantom's direction as Frederick joins us.

"Gah…whatever! I'll take you on myself!" The Phantom dashes forward, claws bared, and Frederick engages him first, but again, sparks fly and the lance point does nothing. However, Chrom's sword seems to have more punch, as he staggers under the blow, allowing me to come in and strike from behind with the WizarSword. Roaring, he slashes at us both. Chrom ducks under the attack as I sidestep him, slashing with the WizarSword, causing him to stagger as sparks fly again. He rebounds, trying to attack us again instead of trying to take Lissa hostage (a sign he's flustered). Chrom blocks the attack and swings his blade, making another mark. Channeling energy into my arm, I grab him as he staggers back, spin him around and then feed him a flaming clothesline.

At this point, the Phantom starts becoming frantic in his attacks, trying to wail on either one of us in the hopes of breaking us quickly, but between Chrom and me, he has no chance. At least, until he blocks an attack from Chrom and then kicks at him right in the gut, causing him to double over. This is enough to feed him another claw strike before shoving him back to me, causing us to collide. As I try to recover, he shoves Chrom aside and belts me two good strikes in the chest, the claws ringing against my armor and putting me back towards where Lissa was, still up against the wall.

"Come on, Ryan, get in there and take him out!" I hear Lissa say.

I look over to her. She flinches at seeing my helmeted face, but I simply give her a thumbs-up to acknowledge her words as Chrom tried to block an incoming strike and was straining against the Phantom's strength as it tried to break his guard. "Chrom! I got an idea! Just keep him close and when you see me go airborne, get away!"

"Why?" Chrom grunted.

"Because I'm gonna finish this in one swoop," I reply, grabbing another ring, this one of a kicking foot. Giving the lever a one-two twitch, I scan the ring. "Time to bring down the curtain!"

**VERY NICE! KICK STRIKE! FABULOUS!**

I feel the energy, the same energy I felt upon transforming, gather around my body and into my right foot. I take off running at the Phantom. Chrom, sensing what I want to do as if by some kind of connection, tries to fight the lock he's in as he turns the Phantom away from me. A magic circle appears under my foot as it catches fire.

Then, I execute. Cartwheel, back flip, back flip, leap, twirl, magic circle appears in pieces to guide me...

"FLAME STRIKE WIZARD!" I call out, blood screaming in my ears as I descend through the rings to my target. Chrom sees me coming and breaks away, but the Fenrir Phantom has no chance. He turns around and promptly receives the Rider Kick right in the chest, and he screams as he goes down and explodes, leaving behind only flames and my magical circle as I land practically in Chrom's face, who seems shocked at the display.

I look up at him. "Did I get him? Did we win?"

"Yeah…we won, Ryan. We won."

"We won…hooray."

And then, blackness.

* * *

I wake up against the wall of the church. The stench of burning things is still in the air, but it's not as pungent as it was before I blacked out. Looking over, I see Lissa tending to me. The Wizard armor has vanished and my regular clothes have returned, blood, rips and all.

"You're awake!" Lissa says happily. "Thank goodness."

"Good…I'm not dead," I say blithely. Then, my stomach takes over, and I ungracefully turn away from Lissa to lose my lunch right on the church steps. I'm not sure what caused it: did I remember those two bandits I killed? Did I just tire myself out and this is my body's idea of revenge? Either way, my mouth tastes likes a three-day old chicken sandwich with way too much barbecue sauce, there's now a mess right in front of the church door, and Lissa gives me a burst of her staff to try and quell any further nausea, handing me a handkerchief.

"Thanks," I mumble, wiping my mouth off before folding it into itself a couple times and stuffing it in my pocket. "Sorry you had to see that."

"Don't worry about it," Lissa replies. "Seriously, though, holy wow, Ryan! Swords, fist fighting, and a cool armor! Is there anything you can't do?"

"Remember anything important, apparently," I quip. Lissa giggles. "You got any water or anything? I need to wash my mouth out."

"You rang?" Chrom shows up, handing me a water skein.

Taking it, I take a little bit of water, swirl it in my mouth as I get up to my feet, and spit into the nearby alley. "Thanks. Is that all of them?"

Chrom accepts the skein back. "Most of them fled when you slew that Phantom thing. Trust me, we won't be seeing them again anytime soon."

"Lucky for the town we were nearby," Lissa said, nodding.

"You're certainly no helpless victim, if that Kamen Rider Wizard show you put on is to be believed," Chrom continued.

"Indeed," Frederick appears giving me another searching stare. "Perhaps you might even be capable of an explanation for how you came here or obtained such power?"

"My memories have been coming back little by little," I said. "As it stands, however, I've told you everything that I know. I'm aware it's not much and I haven't given you a lot of reasons to trust me, but please. Give me a chance, Sir Frederick."

Chrom smiles. "You fought to save Ylissean lives. My heart says that's enough."

Frederick turns to Chrom. "And your mind, milord? Will you not heed its counsel as well?"

Chrom's smile lessens a little. "Frederick, the Shepherds could use someone with Ryan's talents, as mysterious as they are. We have brigands and unruly neighbors trying to bloody our soil. With that in mind, would you really have us lose such a valuable ally?"

"Chrom…" I say.

"Besides, odd as it is, I believe his story," Chrom adds. Frederick nods, acquiescing to Chrom's words.

"So how about it?" Chrom asks, offering me his hand. "Will you join us, Ryan?"

"With pride," I take it, and we shake.

Frederick at least waits until we've broken off until he speaks again. "Milord, something just occurred to me. Those brigands spoke with a Plegian accent."

"Plegian? Is that another country nearby?" I ask.

"Plegia is Ylisse's westerly neighbor. The send small bands into our territory, hoping to instigate a war," Chrom explains.

"And it's the poor townsfolk who suffer!" Lissa complained. "Totally innocent and totally helpless…"

"They do have _us_, milady. Shepherds to protect the sheep," Frederick reminded her. "Do not be swept up in your anger, it will only cloud your judgment."

"I know, I know," Lissa said with a dismissive wave. "Don't worry, I'll get used to this."

Suddenly, a villager, probably the chief townsman (I wouldn't know, he had nothing to identify his station) joins us. "Milord, please, stay the night! We are simple folk of simple means, but we would gladly toast your valor with a feast!"

"A generous offer, sir, and no doubt your hospitality would be grand," Frederick said with a smile. "But, I'm afraid we must hurry back to Ylisstol."

"Dark meat only for me, medium well, and no salt in the soup. I simply…" Lissa began, then caught herself once she processed Frederick's statement. "Wait, what?! We're not staying?! But Frederick, it's nearly dark!"

Realizing what she just said, I looked up in the sky, and sure enough the sun has already begun to set in the west. Just how long was I out?

"When night falls, we'll camp. Eat off the land, make our bed of twigs and the like…" Frederick says, chuckling. "I believe you mentioned you would be 'getting used to this?'"

Lissa pouts. "Frederick? Sometimes I hate you."

"Your XO's kinda stern, I notice," I remark off-handedly.

"Yeah, well 'stern' is one way of putting it. I can think of a few others!" groaned Lissa.

"Frederick only smiles when he's about to bring down the axe," Chrom agrees.

Great. As if Frederick wasn't unappealing enough as it is. "Point made."

Frederick clears his throat. "You do realize I am still present?"

"Oh we do, Frederick. We do," Chrom smiles, which gets a little chuckle from me. Kinda reminds me of me when I'm with my family.

"Milord remains as amusing as ever," Frederick quips. "Now then, shall we be going?"

"Alright, alright," Chrom puts up his hands. "Ready to go, Ryan? The capital isn't far, just a day's journey out."

I stretch out my arms and my back. "Ready anytime, Chrom."

* * *

By the time we hit the road to Ylisstol from Southtown, the sun has already dipped below the horizon. Once again, Chrom and Lissa (still grumbling about missing the feast the villagers were preparing for us) are in the lead, I'm in the middle, and Frederick is in the rear on sweep. Frederick's stare from before, is thankfully absent. I can still feel him keeping a close eye on me, but it doesn't feel like I'm getting sunburn on my neck in the depths of twilight. Maybe Chrom finally got through that huge armor he's got around his mind as well as his body?

I quickly increase my pace to catch up to Chrom. "Hey, Chrom."

"Yeah?" Chrom asks.

"Something's been bothering me. When I first met you guys in that field, I was able to identify Frederick as a Great Knight, and then during the fight I was able to identify those brigands by class. Ruffians, Myrmidons, I think the floppy hat guy was a Mage…I don't ever remember being able to do that or learning as much," I explain. "Can you think of anything that might cause it?"

Chrom purses his lips, trying think of an answer. "Well…I have heard of special schools on the continent that specialize in teaching tactics. And one of the first things you learn in those schools is how to identify units and size them up. Identify them by class, see the weapons they use, see how they're deployed…maybe at some point you went to one of those schools."

I nodded. "It makes sense…and it kinda sounds like you have experience in that kind of thing, yourself…"

Chrom smiles. "Thank Frederick for that. He's been training to make me a warrior and a leader since I was young. Trust me, Frederick may seem like a great big stick-in-the-mud, but I owe a lot to him. Give him time, Ryan, and he'll trust you in due time."

I nod understandingly. If Chrom is still willing to put up with Frederick while still trying to back me up, then I can definitely live with that.

Now, if only I could just remember where the hell my Kamen Rider Wizard abilities came from…

* * *

_(Play: Last Engage – Kamen Rider Girls_)

_**On the next Fire Emblem: Rider Awakening!**_

"_Ugh, why do we have to move out in the middle of the night!?"_

"_My memories are coming back little by little, but it all seems so…disjointed…"_

"_What is this madness?! Lissa, stay close!_"

"_Okay, what kind of magic circle is that!?"_

"_Captain Chrom!"_

"_That was quite an entrance."_

"_Not much for talking, is he?"_

"_Life may be long, but attraction is fleeting!"_

"_Alright, let's get this show on the road!_"

**Next: Chapter 1 – Unwelcome Change!**

**RIDERS, ENGAGE!**


	3. Chapter 1: Unwelcome Change

**Chapter 1: Unwelcome Change**

Night's fallen, and we're still on the road to Ylisstol. Chrom is leading the way with a torch Frederick had brought along for the trip, Lissa is right with him, still grumbling about Frederick sniping her feast hopes out of the sky, and Frederick still watching our backs. Even with the torchlight, looking up into the sky I can see more stars than I could count. At one point, I can even see the moon, which looked a bit bigger than I remember.

I remember the moon being bigger but I can't remember where I'm from? Wow, that's so pathetic.

"I told you!" Lissa says to Chrom. "It's getting dark already! Ech, and the bugs are out!" This suddenly alerts me to the sound of a high-pitched buzzing and something landing on my arm. Reflexively I slap at it, but I only hit my arm as whatever it was (a gnat, probably) is not there anymore and now my arm is stinging. I hate pests. "Noisy, disgusting bugs that crawl all over you and bite you and…" Suddenly, Lissa stops, hands flying to her mouth as a look of horror crosses her face. "UGH! Won goph in mah mouph! Blech! Ptooey!"

I can't help but chuckle a little at Lissa's misfortune. It's only been a couple of hours and she's kinda growing on me.

"Aw, come now, Lissa. Hardship builds character," Chrom does, too. "Want to help me gather firewood?"

"Tpht! Tpht! Yeeeeeuck!" Lissa spits into the grass, finally ridding herself of her unwelcome guest. "I think I swallowed it. I'll pass on firewood. I think I've grown enough character for one day, thank you!"

A loud growl cuts into the conversation, Chrom and Frederick stiffen, trying to pinpoint its source, but I already know what it is: my stomach, reminding me I haven't even since Chrom brought me some mint leaves to freshen my mouth from earlier.

"Eh heh heh…as long as we're discussing camp, what are we doing for food?" I ask nervously. "I dunno 'bout you, but I'm starving."

"Yes, I should think a little hunting and gathering is in order," Frederick says. "Now, who wants to clear a campsite?"

The task ultimately falls on me, as Chrom observes me trying to hunt in Kamen Rider Wizard form would be a little awkward. Chrom goes off by himself in search of food, while Lissa and Frederick go searching for firewood. I find a spot to set up further down the road, clearing away as many rocks as I can under the torchlight. Lissa and Frederick are first back, Frederick carrying some short and stout logs under both arms while Lissa strains under the weight of a pile of dead branches for tinder. Once the campfire gets going and Lissa and I catch our breath, I notice Frederick is still going around the campsite, picking up the odd pebble. Funny, is he a collector or something?

Chrom comes back not much later, a bunch of raw meat hanging from leather ropes in his hand. "Here I am, everyone, and I bear food!"

I tilt my head. "What is that meat? I don't recognize it."

"It's bear meat," Chrom says, handing me a piece that feels about as tough as tree bark in my hands. "Fresh from the wilds."

Lissa doesn't look thrilled, even as Chrom hands her and Frederick a piece. I gnaw on a little bit of my piece. It's a little stringy for my taste, but it's surprisingly tender. My stomach prods me to attempt something with it, so I grab a branch that Lissa brought for tinder and stick it on that, letting it sit over the fire for a few minutes before attempting to eat it again. Surprisingly, it actually tastes a lot better than I was expecting, and before I know it I'm digging in in full. My one gripe is that it makes me pine for barbecue sauce.

"Ah, nothing like the taste of bear meat…delicious!" Chrom says. "…what's the matter, Lissa? Dig in."

"Pass!" says Lissa distastefully. "Gods, can't you spear something normal people eat for once? I mean, come on! Who eats bear?! You're meddling with the food chain. Right, Ryan? …uh, Ryan?"

I almost didn't hear her because I was so focused on the bear meat. Shifting it off to one side of my mouth with my tongue, I ask, "Eh? Someone mention me?"

Lissa sighs. "I suppose a person would enjoy just about anything after not eating for days…"

"I dunno what you're talking about," I reply. "This is actually pretty good."

Lissa facepalms, about ready to burst a blood vessel in her temple. Chrom chuckles again. "Just eat it, Lissa. Meat is meat."

"Since when does meat smell like old boots?!" Lissa asks indignantly. "Wait, I take that back…boots smell better!" Unfortunately for me, right when she said that, I'd been taking a drink from a water skein and just about choked on it as I started laughing, which causes her to glare at me from across the campfire.

Frederick, as always, plays the serious card. "Every experience makes us stronger, milady, even those we don't enjoy."

Lissa's glare shifts to Frederick. "Really? Then why don't I see YOU eating, Frederick?"

"Me? Oh…well…" Frederick's eyes suddenly start shifting as he laughs it off. I hadn't even realized that, much like Lissa's, his bear meat was untouched. "I'm not hungry. I…I had a large lunch! Yes, quite."

I'm pretty sure he's lying, but why, I don't know. Lissa isn't buying it either. "Yeah right, Frederick!"

* * *

I can't sleep.

I can hear Lissa snoring softly some distance away, and if Frederick is asleep, I can't tell. Considering the kind of guy that he is, I wouldn't be surprised if he slept with one eye open. Chrom is still awake only because he wanted to take first watch. He sees me still awake and smiles. "Trouble sleeping?"

"Kinda. I've been struggling with my mind, processing all this information…" I say, turning away and looking up towards the few stars I can see through the forest canopy. "And trying to figure out what led to all of it."

Chrom grunts, dropping a small cup of water on the fire to douse it, stirring the ashes. "Lissa said you might have started remembering things earlier. Is that right?"

"Kinda…" I say. "My memories are coming back little by little, but it all seems so…disjointed."

"I see…do you feel comfortable in telling me what you know?"

I nod, closing my eyes as I try to pull my memories together. I can see bits and pieces of things from here and there in my life, but most of it is unimportant. "My name is Ryan King…I'm from America…and that's about it, really."

"America? I assume that's the country you're from, but I've never heard of it before," Chrom says. "Do you remember what it's like?"

"Not really…then again, I haven't even seen enough of Ylisse to make a comparison," I reply with a small laugh. "I expect I'll remember at some point…I just wish I'd remember quicker."

Chrom laughs. "You have a good sense of humor, Ryan."

"It's my only competent feature," I continue with a wry grin.

Chrom laughs again, sighing as he looks up at the sky. "I wouldn't worry. If you can remember your name and your home right now, then I call that a good omen."

I nod. "I guess so."

We sit in silence for a few minutes before Chrom suddenly stiffens again, looking around at the trees, as if looking for something. As he gets up, Lissa does as well, apparently woken up by whatever it was that Chrom was looking for.

"What's wrong, Big Brother?" she asks with a yawn.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you but…" Chrom says. "Something is amiss…"

"Something's up? Got an idea about what?" I ask.

"I'm not sure…I think I'll have a look around."

"Not alone, you won't! I'm coming, too," Lissa said.

"Heh…thanks, Lissa," Chrom chuckles.

"You want me to come with, too?" I ask. "Or do you need me to stay behind with Frederick?"

"You just get some sleep, Ryan," Chrom says with a smile. "We won't stray too far from camp."

"Alright. Just be back soon," I say with a yawn. "I'd rather not have to go looking for your corpses come dawn."

Lissa giggles. Chrom smiles. "Good night, Ryan."

"Good night, Chrom."

With that, Chrom and Lissa leave as I stretch out in the dirt, trying to get more comfortable, but whatever unease Chrom was feeling earlier seems to be infecting me, as I still can't sleep and now there's a feeling in the pit of my gut, like there's something bad around the corner. All of a sudden Chrom and Lissa heading off by themselves seems less and less like a good thing. And it only gets worse when, all of a sudden, everything seems to go quiet. Birds stop singing, crickets stop chirping, even the wind in the trees seems to drop off.

Okay, if that's a bad sign, I don't know what is.

Getting up, I don the Driver On Ring, just in case, and follow Chrom and Lissa's footprints down the path. I feel kind of bad for leaving Frederick behind, but if he's as capable as I saw in Southtown, then he can get along just fine. Besides, I could always transform into Wizard and fire some shots from the WizarGun to signal our location through the trees. Lord knows those fireballs are bright enough to see in the night sky.

Thankfully, I don't have to travel far, as I catch up to Chrom and Lissa, who also seem a little weirded out at the sudden silence in the area.

"It sure is dark…and quiet," observed Lissa. "Where did the birds go?"

"Something is wrong here," mumbles Chrom.

"I know, right?" I ask. "Reaaaal bad juju going down."

Chrom jumps, whipping around with his hand on his sword, Lissa gives an "eep!" of surprise and tries to whack me with her Heal staff, but I raise my hands and step back before I suffer any further brain damage. "Whoa, whoa, hey! It's me, guys!"

"Ryan? What are you doing here?" Chrom asks, relaxing although his grip on his sword handle doesn't relax with the rest of his body.

"Looking for you," I said. "I couldn't sit still and I wanted to make sure you're alright."

And right when I said that, an earthquake hit. Surprisingly, the three of us managed to stay upright as Chrom clutched onto his little sister, even though the ground was threatening to drop us the ground with the force of an RKO. Wait a minute, what's an RKO?

"Ahhh! Chrom!" Lissa screamed.

"Agh! What is this madness?! Lissa, stay close!" Chrom said.

This is bad. Oh, this is so bad. Amidst the ground rumbling and the trees up ahead rustling, I can also hear something else…the sound of ripping earth and falling trees. Something was headed our way. Something big. And Chrom could sense it, too.

"Ryan. Take Lissa and run."

"What?" I ask in confusion.

"I mean it, go!" Chrom said.

"You heard the man! Let's boogey!" I say to Lissa, and we took off running. Running in an earthquake isn't exactly an easy task, especially when the ground is shaking in every direction conceivable, but we were able to outrun whatever was rumbling toward us at high speed. Suddenly, the ground stopped shaking and something came out of the ground, blazing with the heat of a thousand suns burning in a hot desert, and sending fireballs raining down every which way around us.

"Hey! This way!" Chrom passes me, heading off to the left. Lissa and I turn with him, leaping down to lower ground as a fireball hits the ground right our backs. Lissa and Chrom land on their feet, I end up faceplanting. But I quickly pick myself up and follow them through the forest into a forest clearing. If it weren't for the fact it was pitch black not a moment before, I'd almost think it was dawn with the fire lighting up the sky. I'm already out of breath, and so is Lissa, but Chrom looks like he'd only been taking a brisk jog.

"Chrom, what is that!?"

Lissa's pointing into the sky, and sure enough, looking where she's pointing there's something forming in the sky. It eventually transforms into a large golden magical circle. In the center of it, a blue orb of energy forms inside, and a few figures drop to the ground from it. Already I'm getting bad juju vibes out of it, and I check to make sure I still have my Wizard Rings. Thankfully, I do.

"Lissa, you better stay back," Chrom warns. Lissa nods, dropping back towards a nearby boulder as Chrom draws his sword. "Ryan, do you have your rings?"

"Armed and ready, Chrom," I said, scanning the Driver On Ring.

**DRIVER ON! PLEASE!**

The WizarDriver forms around my belt, and I shift the Autor to the left.

**SHABADOOBIE TOUCH TO HENSHIN! SHABADOOBIE TOUCH TO HENSHIN!**

As I pull the Flame Style Ring out of my pocket to put on my other hand, and three figures step out of the darkness of the trees. They are all armored warriors armed with axes, their skin purple with decay and their eyes glowing red with dark energy. The growl/groan a battle cry, black smoke of some sort pouring out of their mouths as they charge at us.

Zombies? OH, HELL NO!

"HENSHIN!" I call, scanning the ring.

**FLAME! PLEASE! HI! HI! HI HI HI!**

The ring appears in front of me this time, which allows me to charge through it. Once again, the feeling of heat covers me as I transform into Kamen Rider Wizard once again. Chrom is right with me, swinging his sword for a vital strike right through one of them. It would've felled a normal man, but suddenly it spins its head back around and tries to pounce on him again! Then I'm assaulted by another one of the axe-wielders. I twist to avoid a fatal strike to my side, but as I twist, the axe blade actually cuts into my side, sparks flying, where my armor's not as strong.

Jesus Helsinki Christ on a pogo stick! This one actually hurt! The armor stopped the worst of it, but the warm feeling against my body tells me I'm bleeding a little there. That Fenrir Phantom may have hurt me, but I was expecting that! What was this thing swinging!? It tries to attack again, but this time I'm ready for it, as I jump, spinning my body into a reverse side-kick, shoving the thing away as I scan the Connect Ring.

**CONNECT! PLEASE!**

"This oughta shut you up!" I growl, grabbing the WizarGun from its place in…well, I like to call it Elsewhere (I don't know why, it just seemed appropriate), and blast two shots right into its head. What would've been lethal proved not to be, once again, as the thing slashes at me again with its axe, acting like nothing had happen. Snarling, I jump back, switching to WizarSword mode, and parry its next attack. It breaks off, and attacks again. After another parry, I grab the blade of my weapon, twist, and heave. Like clockwork, the axe goes flying out of the thing's hand. In fact, its axe, hand, and its forearm go flying across the clearing as I go for the kill, jamming the tip of the WizarSword's blade right between his eyes. His eyes go dark as he vanishes into black dust.

As I resume a ready position, Chrom comes flying in from the air, somersaulting with blade out as he jumps on the fallen zombie warrior, jamming his sword right into its back as it vanishes into black dust. He actually looks tired now, thanks to the sweat I can see on his face. Well, at least we know we can beat them…wait, wasn't there three of them?

"AAAAH!"

"Lissa!" Chrom recognizes the scream. Oh crap! We forgot about Lissa!

Sure enough, the one guy we forgot about was prowling on Lissa, who was paralyzed with fear against the boulder, unable to fight even with her Heal staff. As I shift back to WizarGun mode, two more of the beings pop out of the trees. I take off running in Lissa's direction with Chrom, firing behind me to keep those two from chasing us. The zombie raises its axe to finish Lissa off with a swift blow, something else comes flying out of the ring…another figure, but instead of dropping like the others, this one goes flying through the air, dropping in on my left as we charge, hoping to beat the zombie to the killing blow…

CLANG!

With a burst of speed from God-knows-where, the new arrival dashes to the rescue, stopping the monster's attack cold with some kind of rear guard maneuver just in time to save Lissa from a bloody end. It's enough to make us both stop in our tracks, in awe of the feat. Then, the figure turns to us, her face obscured by something I can't make-out in the half-dark, clearly straining under the being's strength, and snaps one word at us. "Help!"

Chrom nods. "Right!"

"Hang on!" I add, taking off running as I channel magic into my foot, similar to the Flame Strike Wizard from earlier but not enough to be a finisher. Chrom cuts across to the right, that sword of his starting to blaze with blue fire, roaring. The zombie turns towards the noise, giving time for the figure to prepare as I toss the WizarGun up into the air and spread out my arms. Time seems to stand still for only a moment as Chrom and the figure land two perfect slashes on the back and on the chest, and I land the finisher with a flaming butterfly kick to the head, which somehow sends it flying through the air over Lissa and into the other side of the clearing as the body vanishes.

Then, the WizarGun drops on top of my head, and time resumes again.

"Ow…" I mutter, hoping Chrom and the newcomer didn't see as I pick up my weapon. Lissa probably did, but she's too shocked at having survived by the grace of God to say anything. The figure, meanwhile, says nothing, only sheathes its sword.

"That was quite an entrance," says Chrom. "What's your name?"

The figure says nothing, except to look at us with a look that brooked no further questions at the moment. The figure seems built like Chrom, not necessarily muscular but definitely got a kind of lithe power about him, but on a smaller scale. He has dark blue hair, and he (I assume it's a he) wears a mask on his face, shaped kinda like a butterfly but with grates near the eyes, so I can't tell much more about him. As for dress, he was dressed in a dark blue-green tunic, leggings, boots, and a dark blue cloak.

There's a galloping noise and Frederick finally comes galloping in. "Milord! Milady! Are you hurt?"

"Yeah, we're fine," I say, quickly going over to Lissa. "You okay?" Lissa can only nod and give a hum of agreement. "Looks like we got ourselves a zombie problem. Is this common in Ylisse?"

"They're not from Ylisse, I promise you that," Chrom says.

"No one is injured, then? Thank the gods…" said Frederick with a relieved sigh.

"Thank the masked man who saved me!" Lissa said, resuming her normal bouncy personality. "If it wasn't for him, I'd be…hey, where did he go?"

Where indeed. In the confusion of Frederick showing up (which kinda makes me regret not waking him up even more), that masked guy from earlier seems to have flown the coop.

"We can worry about him later," Frederick said, pulling out his lance. "AFTER we put these…zombies, as you call them…to the blade. Eyes open, now. We know nothing about this enemy."

"For once, Frederick, I second that notion," I say, shifting my weapon to WizarSword mode once again. "Can't have these creepy-crawlies scurrying about."

"Agreed," says Chrom. "Now…first thing we need to do is start making our way towards that wildfire."

"What? Why?" asked Lissa. "But that's where most of those guys came from!"

"Well, that is true," I say. "But it's also the closest source of good light. These forests are good cover in a fight, yes, but in dark conditions like this it's also a good place to get ambushed. If these zombies are after us, we need to force them out to open ground, where we can see them, ideally near a place we can duck into cover if they try to swarm us. 'cause if there's one thing I know about zombies, is that they operate in packs."

Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick stare at me as I stop, my open jaw hidden by my mask. Okay, Chrom mused that I could have a tactical bent earlier, but that statement came right out of the blue and still sounded intelligent! How the hell am I capable of such a thing?

"Erm…right. The logic is sound enough, at least," Chrom says, trying to fill the hole.

"And so it is," agrees Frederick. "Now, onward, and be ready for anything!"

* * *

Frederick takes the lead, pulling out that torch Chrom was using earlier to light our way until the flames in the near distance could light up the area around us. Thankfully, no zombies came out to ambush us in the trees, but once we came out of the trees, I could see a few more of them, a Mercenary and a Fighter, namely, coming out to meet us.

"Frederick, take the blade wielder!" Chrom calls, drawing his weapon. "Ryan, you and I will take the axe wielder!"

"Roger!" I say.

Chrom stops. "What?"

"Just…carry on, I got your back!" Seriously mouth, stop saying stupid things that Chrom and Frederick won't get!

Chrom doesn't question it further and charges. I'm right with him as Lissa tries to follow. Chrom goes first, leaping the remaining distance between the Ruffian and us and opening up with a slash with his sword, catching the zombie high on its arm. Chrom leaps back as it attempts a swing, catching him on his shoulder as it rings off his shoulder guard. I cross over, swinging the WizarSword as I lunge and miss him. The zombie whips around, axe swinging, and catches me high on my chestplate. Much like before, my armor absorbs it but I can still barely feel it cutting against my sternum.

"That was a good strike he landed. You alright?" Chrom asks.

"Sure," I nod. I debate telling him about these zombies and how they seem to be hurting me through my armor, because I'm pretty sure these kind of minor wounds are rare for Kamen Riders, but then again, maybe this Wizard armor wasn't meant for these kinds of battles with human enemies…such as it is, but suddenly, the sound of galloping hooves catches my attention. Sounds like Frederick's back from taking on that Myrmidon.

"Captain Chrom! Get down!"

I turn around, and all of a sudden a lance point comes flying at my chest. Sparks fly and I stagger back under the blow, but the attack, which was a direct strike at my chest, doesn't do much. Well, that solved that mystery rather quick, but…

"Who the hell are you!?" I shout, preparing the WizarSword as my attacker wheels her horse around. She's a knight like Frederick with short red hair, but her armor is not as heavy. It's colored somewhere between red and burgundy, with khaki accents and some kind of cloth streaming down her front, and she's armed with the lance that just hit me.

"So you actually speak! 'bout time I had an intelligent enemy to fight!" the knight says with a fair bit of confidence, but as I start shifting to Gun Mode, Chrom intervenes.

"Ryan! Sully! Hold!"

"Okay! Okay!" I put up my hands, finger off the trigger.

Sully puts up her lance, trotting towards us. "Captain Chrom. Sorry for attacking your friend here, but I mistook him for the enemy as I was coming in." Okay, I can buy that. She obviously didn't know what I was and with all the zombies around…yeah. I guess I could look like an enemy in the right circumstances.

"It's alright, Sully. I'm just glad to cut in before someone got hurt," says Chrom. "But let's get to the point. What are you doing here?"

"I came to assist you," Sully says. "After my last mission, I heard you'd just left Southtown and figured if I hurried I could catch up with you and escort you back to Ylisstol. But then the ground started shaking, that magic circle thing showed up, and then whatever these things were showed up."

"I see. Well, despite the gaffe, we're happy to have you," said Chrom. "Just make sure the enemy is in your path next time!"

"Will do," Sully nods before turning to me, holding out a hand. "Sorry about that. Name's Sully. I'm a Shepherd."

"I'm Ryan. Kamen Rider Wizard, at your service," I shake it.

Sully stares at me, confused. "You ride a what now?"

"I'll explain once we've cleared these guys out," I say quickly.

"Sounds good," Sully smirks, taking point as two more zombies, another Mercenary and a Fighter, came out of the trees. "Alright, you ash-faced freaks! Which one of ya wants to try my lance on for size first?! I know just the spot for it: shoved right up your…"

"Hold, milady!" Another new voice comes in, this one male, stopping Sully from finishing a rather graphic analogy.

"Muh?" Sully asks.

"Oh God, what now!?" I ask ill-temperedly.

A second new figure comes in right where Sully entered from, this one an Archer. He's got silver hair, dressed in a gray long-sleeved shirt with a set of steel blue light armor, and a ruffled ascot poking out around his neck.

"Life may be long, but attraction is fleeting!" he continues. "Would you leave me in your sweet dust? Leave war to the warriors, dear bird! A beauty such as you need wage only love."

Sully just stares. So does Lissa. "…the hell are you?"

"Ha! Is the lady intrigued? Of course you are…it's only natural. I am myth and legend! I am he who strides large across history's greatest stage!" the man carries on, unaware that Sully's clearly not into him (I can't think of any girl who would). "The man who puts 'arch' in 'archer!' My name, dear lady, is…"

I can't take this guy anymore. I take the WizarGun and fire a few shots at the zombies advancing towards us. This gets their attention, and they charge, brandishing weapons. "Incoming! Stand ready, everyone!"

"Sorry, Ruffles, no time for this. Onward!" Sully gallops into the lead as we take off, leaving the Archer in the dust. Sully takes the Mercenary, jamming her lane right into the chest same as she did to me. I follow up behind her, blasting away with the WizarGun. The zombie falls to the ground and disappears, holes poking through his body. Chrom goes for the Fighter, disarming the axe-wielder with a skirmishing move, kicks him away, and then zips forward for the decapitation.

"Wait! You didn't have to leave!" Unfortunately, the Archer doesn't give up the chase. "Pray, at least tell me your name!"

"I'm Sully. I'm a Shepherd," Sully grunts.

"'Sully!' How divine! A starkly beautiful name, as befits its owner, truly. I am Virion, the greatest Archer in Rosanne! Will you marry me, my dearest Sully?"

"Will I what now?" Sully frowns at this Virion guy as she comes over, clearly entertaining thoughts of whacking him with the haft of her lance on his head a few times. I can relate. "Oh, wait, I get it. This is a joke. And when I put my boot in your face? That's the punch line."

"I realize my manly figure and noble bearing can be overwhelming. 'tis common!" Virion says. "So please, don't feel pressured to answer right away…"

"How's THIS for an answer?!" Sully responds by pounding her boot right in Virion's face, sending him right on his ass.

"Hah! I like you already, Sully!" I crack. Sully gives me an acknowledging smile.

"G-goodness, those shapely legs can kick…" Virion says, getting back to his feet and now sporting the print of Sully's boot on his face. "P-please, milady! Allow me to accompany you, at least! Mine is a cold, empty world without you. I shall be your most willing servant, and in turn, you shall give my life purpose…"

"Okay, fine. Anything to shut you up…" Sully groans. "…but only if Captain Chrom approves."

"I have no objections. Ryan?" Chrom looks at me.

Oh God how I'd love to say no. But, Chrom is willing to let him slide, and an Archer is going to be useful against these zombies… "I'm fine with it if you are. Anybody know where Frederick went?"

"I have returned!" Frederick came back, cutting back the way we had come. "The remainder of the enemy forces should be up ahead. Their leader is waiting at the edge of the wildfire as we speak."

"Then let's make this quick," I say. "Chrom and I will take the lead. Sully, Lissa, Virion, form up behind us, Frederick, you'll take the rear. Keep near the trees but stay in formation. If you see enemies coming, give a whistle and point them out. And if you see anything that doesn't look human even by zombie standards, point that out too."

"AYE!" the Shepherds nod and quickly fell into position as we take off into the night.

* * *

Just as Frederick predicted, the rest of the zombies lay up ahead, only being about four of them, three Fighters and an Archer, with one of the Fighters away from the rest. As Chrom points them out, I shift to Sword Mode again. "Okay, get ready! Chrom, you and I will take the Fighters! Sully, charge that Archer and take him out before he starts shooting! Frederick, grab Lissa and stand by for orders in case someone needs help! Virion, get in the trees and try and get a good shot on that third Fighter!"

Chrom and I increase our pace, as Sully gallops by, whooping some Ylissean warcry. Frederick picks up Lissa and puts her on his horse, galloping past as well with Virion right behind him. Chrom goes airborne, dodging a slash from an axe as he lands a good strike on his enemy from behind. As it turns, he retracts and zips forward with a stab, finishing it off. As for me, I slash and miss yet again, but I recover in time to parry the counterattack that follows, twist the axe head away with the WizarSword, and then jam my elbow in the zombie's face. It staggers back, just in time for me to stab with my own weapon, catching it in the chest and defeating it. Across the way, Sully gives the Archer zombie another stab, and it vanishes. All that's left is that third Fighter…

"Incoming!" And Virion comes flying out of the trees like a bat out of hell as flames shoot out of the trees.

"What the hell was that!?" Sully asks.

"On your guard, everyone! These things may have some new power at hand!" Frederick shouted.

However, what came out of the forests wasn't that last Fighter. Instead, what came out was a figure, garbed in purple and orange armor, eyes hidden behind a visor and a topknot on his head. He had no shirt, and instead only wore a pair of what I could only guess was black parachute pants.

"Well, you managed to defeat all my Risen…" the thing said. "Hmph. And here I was, thinking they'd be better than Ghouls…almost. But now, here we all are, and now I have to deal with you petty humans myself."

"Is that…" Chrom asks.

"Yup. That's another Phantom…" I nod, shifting to Gun Mode.

"You know what I am! Impressive…but then again, I know of you, magician. Kamen Rider Wizard, the one who turns despair into hope," said the Phantom. "…won't Wiseman be so pleased once he learns that you and your friends met their ends here."

"Certainly got a big mouth, there, freak," spat Sully. "Care to back up your words?"

"Certainly…but unfortunately, you humans wouldn't have the power to defeat me. But feel honored. I, the Djinn Phantom, shall be the one to deliver you to your maker…or should I say, your ASHES!" Fire erupts from him as he sends fireballs every which way, forcing us all to take cover.

Virion takes off for the trees nearest to me, firing with his bow again, but the arrows ring off the Phantom's armor as I charge in, brandishing the WizarSword, but the Phantom produces some kind of sword-like weapon (I think it's called a scimitar) and blocks the attack easily before smashing me back with a palm strike. The Phantom launches more fireballs, showering me in the whole bunch. I can actually feel these things pelting my skin through the armor. It's like getting poked multiple times with a burning stick.

Sully charges the Phantom, and although the lance does nothing, it does get its attention as it smacks her with a punch, taking her right off her horse. I switch to Gun Mode and blast him a few times as I get up, but the attack doesn't even faze him all that much.

"That tickles," he snarks, before unleashing a stream of flames at me. I roll forward, the flames scorching my back as they sear past, and I leap up to try and land a flying side kick, but that doesn't work that well either as he simply absorbs the attack, and then swats me away like a fly.

Chrom comes dashing in with blade bared, but a wall of fire erupts right in front of him and cuts him off. Frederick comes in from the other side with his lance, but like Sully his lance has no effect, and is forced to get away to avoid getting him and his horse toasted by another stream of flames.

"This is getting us nowhere…" I growl, checking my ring belt. Thankfully, I had access to the other three Styles, but which one was going to help me? I select the blue ring, swap out my Flame Ring, shift my Autor to the left, and scan. "Time to even up the deck, I think!"

**WATER! PLEASE! SUI, SUI, SUI, SUI!**

A rippling blue magical circle appears over my head, coating me in its energy. Similar to Flame Style, as the circle passes over me, a feeling of being submersed in cool water, like I'm taking a swim in the ocean, washes over me. The red parts of my armor turn blue, and my chestplate changes shape, reflecting diamonds instead of the trapezoids that Flame Style had. This is the second of Kamen Rider Wizard's initial forms, Water Style.

"Alright. Let's get this show on the road!" I proclaim. "Frederick, Sully, Chrom, swarm him! Virion, Lissa, come over here, I need you close in case things get bloody!"

Lissa nods, getting off Frederick's horse and heading back to me with Virion. Even though Frederick, Virion, and Sully can't hurt him, I have a sneaking suspicion about that sword Chrom carries. It's not built like other swords, and it actually seemed to have an effect on that Fenrir Phantom, and Wizard is built to fight Phantoms. So theoretically, Chrom and I are the only ones that can hurt him, and by having Chrom attack with Frederick and Sully, while Virion and I attack from a distance, it'll confuse him, or at least keep his attention off of Chrom and me while we whittle him down and then try to go for the kill.

Sully and Frederick take the lead, charging the Phantom and stabbing with their lances, as I open fire with the WizarGun. The Phantom staggers, just in time for Chrom to jump in from Sully's side and swinging his sword, which rakes across his body. Just as I predicted, the Phantom howls, trying to blast Chrom with fire, but Virion fires another arrow, which makes him shoot towards the Archer instead. Virion zips out of the way, ducking into the trees as Chrom goes left and I go right, continuing to fire as I take cover in the forest.

"Damned wizard!" snarls the Phantom, suddenly forming a fireball and launching it into the air. The thing arcs up high into the air and smashes into the ground behind me, launching me out of the trees, but I roll my way through it to start blasting him again at close range. As he turns toward me, Sully comes around first for a second pass, striking him right across the chest. Virion shoots again, the shot whizzing past his head, and Chrom comes in with a flying stab to stop the counterattack.

However, the Phantom was ready for him, as he grabs Chrom by his throat and tosses him off to the side, right into Frederick and sending them both to the ground. I go to Sword Mode and try to get in close myself, but the Phantom whirls, blasting me with fire at point-blank range from his hands. I fall to the ground in a mass of burning pain, and Sully is not far behind as he clotheslines her off her horse.

As my vision blurs with the pain of the second-degree burns on my body, Virion and Lissa are the only ones still up. Virion fires a couple of arrows, shouting at Lissa to run for it, but the Phantom blocks the arrows, and as Lissa runs, he motions with his arms and Lissa ends up running into a wall of fire, cutting off her escape.

"You cannot escape my power…" the Djinn Phantom says, looking back towards me. "Your friends are powerless to stop me. And now watch as I turn this Gate you travel with to despair, and make her one of us!"

Wait a minute. Lissa's a Gate!? Okay, she's a Cleric, so yeah, she could be a target for the Phantoms in theory, but how would they know that?

"You're lying through the hole in your head!" I shout, getting up to my feet.

"All humans with magical potential are Gates," the Phantom replies. "All I have to do is make her feel despair, and this battle is won!"

"Try it, Jafar!" I counter, and dash at him, spinning the WizarSword in my hand. The Phantom turns and slam me with a burning fist, sending me to the ground once again as he prepares his scimitar.

"You have no concept of pain, it seems," the Phantom says. "If you wish to die so badly, then I will finish you right now-agh!"

Chrom shows up last-second, swinging his sword into the Phantom's back. "Stay away from my sister, you fiend!" The attack hits, the Phantom roars, and he immediately goes after Chrom, slashing at him as Chrom jumps back, blade ready. And that's all the time I need to shift to Gun Mode and pull the thumb on the WizarGun's Hand Autor, which opens up.

**COME ON A SHOOTING, SHAKE HANDS! COME ON A SHOOTING, SHAKE HANDS!**

"Let's bring down the curtain!" I shout, rolling onto my stomach and taking aim, scanning with my Water Ring.

**WATER! SHOOTING STRIKE! SUI SUI SUI! SUI SUI SUI!**

The Phantom turns at the sound of the WizarGun's chanting, but it's already too late as a blue magical circle appears in front of the WizarGun's barrel, and I pull the trigger. A veritable torrent of water, like a blast from a pressurized hose, rips through the air at the Djinn Phantom and splashes against him. I hear him screaming in pain and anger, so it shouldn't be long before he goes down.

"YOU FOOL!"

A blast of fire rips through the air. Chrom falls over, Lissa falls over, Virion…I don't know where he went, and the Water Shooting Strike evaporates into steam and floats into the early morning. Wait a minute, what!? Hax! Cheats! I could see Phantoms sometimes surviving finishing attacks, but actually negating them!? "That will not be enough to stop me!"

"Hax…I call hax…" I groan.

The Phantom ignores me, turning to Chrom, who's writhing on the ground and sporting some burns of his own. "So the Gate is your sister, hm? Then perhaps by killing you, it will be what brings the Gate to despair! Now…perish!"

He raises his scimitar to finish Chrom off, but then a dark blue blur leaps in from the trees, striking the Phantom in the back once again. "WHAT!? AGAIN!?"

This time, it's the masked warrior from before. I couldn't see it before, but that sword he's carrying is oddly similar to Chrom's. As the Phantom rounds on him, he slashes twice on the Phantom's chest, hurting him much like Chrom did, and then produces a ring from inside her satchel, tossing it to me. "Use this!"

I catch it, looking at it. It's a picture of a dragon and a sparkling leaf. "What's it do?"

"No questions, now hurry up!" He snaps, continuing to fight back against the Phantom as Chrom gets up as well, leaning on his own sword for support. If she saved Lissa and just saved Chrom, who am I to argue? Maybe it'll help! I don it on my right hand, and scan.

**ENERGIZE! PLEASE!**

At once, magic surges through my body. I'm still not feeling all that great with all the burns and wounds I've been getting, but it definitely gives me a boost I need as I get up to my feet. It then vanishes off my finger. Must be a one-shot.

Okay. Water Style is just not going to do the trick against this Phantom. Flame Style won't affect him, obviously. I need something to shut him down that will stop his fire much like water, but won't be negated by it.

Something suddenly shoots back through my mind.

_Fire needs three things to burn: air, fuel, and heat._

Air. Alright then! I swap out my Water Ring for the green ring and scan. "Time to reap the whirlwind!"

**HURRICANE! PLEASE! FU! FU! FU FU FU FU!**

A green magical circle appears over my head, much like Water Style, but as it passes over me, I feel a cool breeze wash over me as my blue accents turn green and the diamonds turn into triangles. This is Kamen Rider Wizard, Hurricane Style!

(_Play: Blessed Wind – Rider Chips_)

The Phantom knocks the masked one aside, flames blossoming in both hands as he launches two more fireballs at Lissa. "You will not stop me!"

"I think I will, actually!" I quickly jump back over the wall of fire towards her, a rather easy task despite the distance, grabbing another one of my rings, this one with a dragon and a shield.

**DEFEND! PLEASE!**

A sphere of wind erupts around me and Lissa, blocking the fireballs and sending them flying away. With a shout, I then launch it forward, knocking the Phantom back. It also has the benefit of smothering the fire, allowing Lissa to go help her brother. Then Frederick comes barreling in like a horse-mounted tank, stabbing the Phantom in the chest with his lance. Sully comes from the other side, hitting him again, which allows the masked warrior to get a good strike right on his head.

Concentrating my energy out, a small whirlwind lifts me into the air and I zip right at the Phantom, spinning as I slash him multiple times with the WizarSword. After receiving some much-needed aid from Lissa, Chrom also comes in, swinging his sword, which makes him scream again.

"Damn you all! I will not stand for being beaten around you low-class wretches!" the Djinn Phantom shouts.

"Well, if it means that much to you…" I said, activating the Hand Autor again.

**COME ON A SLASH, SHAKE HANDS! COME ON A SLASH, SHAKE HANDS!**

I scan the Hurricane Ring. "…then let's bring down the curtain on this fight! For real, this time!"

**HURRICANE! SLASH STRIKE! FU FU FU! FU FU FU!**

I swing the WizarSword once, a small green tornado lifting him into the air. The Phantom struggles in the wind, flame erupting from his body as he tries to break out, but the tornado's winds smother it as I swing the WizarSword a second time, creating an arc of wind magic that slices the Djinn Phantom in half. It explodes fantastically, leaving nothing behind but the flash of a green magic circle.

"Hoo…and that's the end of that…" I sigh.

* * *

Thankfully, this time I didn't throw up afterward, but needless to say, I was pretty exhausted. Hell, we were all exhausted, but we couldn't stick around with all the wildfires. So, all of us (yes, including Virion, who claimed that he was looking for a good place to snipe the Djinn Phantom during the fight) headed down the road until we came to an abandoned for to recover. Chrom and I did have some pretty nasty burns on us from the Phantom's flames, but Lissa's Heal staff took care of that with some helpful Vulnerary, which is some kind of healing salve people use here. Neat stuff.

"It seems all the creatures are vanquished," reported Frederick, gesturing to our masked friend. "This one took care of the others."

"Um…I never got to thank you…for before. So, thank you. You were very brave," Lissa said.

"Yeah," I nodded. "You really saved our hides out there today. Where'd you get that Energize Ring from?"

The masked warrior doesn't reply.

"You saved my sister's life, and mine as well," said Chrom. "My name is Chrom. Might I ask yours?"

"…you may call me Marth," he answers.

"Marth? After the heroic king of old?" Chrom asks, interested. "You certainly fight like a hero. Where did you learn your way with a sword?"

"I'm not here to talk about me," Marth says bluntly. "This world teeters at the brink of horrible calamity. What you all saw tonight was but a prelude. You have been warned."

"Huh? What's teetering where now? Hey, wait!" Lissa calls, but Marth is already gone, walking down the path and out of sight.

"Huh…not much of a talker, is he?" I observe.

"His skills lie elsewhere, it appears," says Frederick. "I wager we'll hear his name again." You and me both, Frederick. "But for now, I'm more concerned about the capital. We should make haste. If we hurry, we should be in Ylisstol by morning."

So, wait, we're not going to rest after that Phantom attack?

Dammit, Frederick.

* * *

_(Play: Blessed Wind – Rider Chips)_

_**On the next Fire Emblem: Rider Awakening!**_

"_So this is Ylisstol, huh?"_

"_Look, the exalt has come to see us!"_

"_Frederick, if I wanted to hurt you, Chrom, or Lissa, do you think I would've wasted any time?"_

"_Welcome to the Shepherds garrison!"_

"_Ryan, don't your recognize me?"_

"_We're moving out for Regna Ferox tomorrow morning."_

"_I've got a desire to kick some butt!"_

"_This just became so much more complicated…"_

**Up Next – Chapter 2: Shepherds!**

**RIDERS, ENGAGE!**


	4. Chapter 2: Shepherds

**Chapter 2: Shepherds**

Just as Frederick predicted, the sun had risen in the east as we hustled down the road and came up on Ylisstol. Ylisstol appeared to be pretty big, sprawled out across the plains almost to the horizon from the the top of the hill we were standing on. Sully and Virion had decided to move on ahead in order to return to the Shepherds garrison, but Chrom decided it would be a great idea to introduce me to the exalt. It leaves me wondering why they also wouldn't introduce Virion, but then I'm reminded just who Virion is, and decide it's probably for the best.

As Chrom leads me through the streets, I'm simply boggled by the number of people out on the streets. And strangely, I feel right at home surrounded by all the people. I wonder if in my past I lived in a large city in that place called America that I remembered I as from.

"It appears the capital was spared the chaos we encountered, thank the gods," Frederick says from nearby. "I see no evidence of the great quake. It must've been limited to the forest."

"Well, that's a relief!" said Lissa.

"I guess so," I said, quickly side-stepping a couple walking down the street. "If people are talking like it didn't even happen, then I'd take that as a good omen, too." Or maybe they are and I just can't hear them, I add in my head. I wouldn't know, I've only been in this country a day and a half at most.

Suddenly, a whole group of people on the street stop at the sound of marching footsteps.

"Look! The exalt has come to see us!" shouts a villager.

Exalt. Yeah. Ruler of Ylisse. Probably would want to get a look at her if I can, so I know the kind of person I'm dealing with. Eventually, the exalt herself comes up the street, headed towards the white-walled castle I can see further uptown and surrounded by a small contingent of Knights and Cavaliers.

The exalt was a young woman, maybe about my age or even younger. She wears a robe of simple green with white trim, roman numerals sewn around the front and a hairpiece sticking up the back of her head to give some kind of halo-like effect. She has dirty-blonde hair a lot like Lissa's, in two long curls that flow down her head. More than a few villagers start cheering, and she simply waves back with a kind of motherly smile. She glances on me for a moment, and I can see a mark prominently on her forehead, identical to the one on Chrom's shoulder.

"So that's the person in charge of Ylisse, hm?" I ask.

"Yes. Her name is Lady Emmeryn," explains Frederick.

"Are you sure it's okay for her to be out and about with the villagers like this? I mean, it's not like she's going around unguarded, but still you'd think this would draw some more…unsavory characters, doncha think?"

"The exalt is a symbol of peace-Ylisse's most prized quality," Frederick continues with a smile. "Long ago, at the dawn of our age, the fell dragon Grima tried to destroy the world. But the first exalt joined forces with the divine dragon Naga and laid the beast low. Exalt Emmeryn reminds us of all the peace we fought for in those days."

"We need people like her, especially if brigands and countries like Plegia are poking at our borders," Chrom adds. "She's a calming presence, when some might otherwise call for war."

"Something Chrom's very familiar with!" Lissa adds with a grin, which gets a flat look from Chrom.

I chuckle. "I don't doubt that. Either way, the Ylisseans are lucky to have someone like her."

"She's also the best big sister anyone could ask for!" Lissa added.

"I best she is…oh wait hold on she's your SISTER!?" I ask, suddenly remembering the mark on her forehead and how it was the same as on Chrom's shoulder. "But…if she's your sister…then that makes you guys…"

"The prince and princess of the realm, yes. You remember Chrom's name and not this?" Frederick smiles.

"But…if you're of the royal family, then what was the deal with that Shepherd stuff?" I ask.

"We are Shepherds…in a way," Chrom says. "We just happen to have a lot of sheep, is all."

My brain feels ready to short-circuit under this new information. Add to the fact that I've been walking most of the way with no sleep and practically exhausted since the last tango, and it's a surprise I haven't gone clinically insane yet. Or maybe I'm have and all this is me being delusional.

"Chrom…sorry, Prince Chrom! Milord, please, forgive my dreadful manners!" I say.

Chrom smiles as he always does. "Just Chrom is fine. I've never been much for formalities as it is."

Okay. Good. "So I've been travelling in the presence of royalty this whole time…Jesus Helsinki Christ…well, I guess that also explains why Frederick puts up with the two of you constantly making jibes at him."

"Indeed," Frederick sighs. "Oh, the sacrifices I make for the good of the realm…"

I laugh slightly. "I feel at home already."

"Well, by the look of things, Emm is returning to the palace. Would you like to meet her?" asked Chrom.

"Oh, wait, now you ask me?" I ask with a wry grin. "I thought you guys had decided on that since we before we showed up in Ylisstol proper."

Chrom grins. "Come on. Emm would be happy to meet you."

* * *

We follow Emmeryn's entourage up through the streets of Ylisstol until we arrive in the castle, which stands high above the town on a large hill with walls that stretch even higher. Steeping inside, I see a large throne of some kind of wood made of some kind of dark wood, probably cherry, but Emmeryn isn't on it, but instead waiting for her siblings past the columns into the throne room. Considering I'm still wearing my bloodied and ripped shirt and jeans and look like I haven't had a good sleep since I got here, I look a right mess. I take a moment, spit into my hands to try and settle down my hair, clean my glasses with my shirt, and make my way inside.

"Chrom! Lissa! Welcome home," Emmeryn greets, embracing her two siblings happily before she rises to greet Frederick. "And good day, Sir Frederick. How fared you all?"

"Well, we shouldn't have any bandit problems for a while," said Chrom.

"Wonderful. And what of the people?"

"Safe as they can be, Emm. We still need to watch the borders, though. The brigands crossed over from Plegia."

"Forgive me, milord. My pegasus knights should have intercepted them." I look over and realize that there's someone else there with Emmeryn, a woman with white-blue hair and red eyes, dressed in a short blue dress and a set of bronze armor.

"No, Phila," Chrom shakes his head. "Your duty was here, with the exalt."

"Besides, we had plenty of help along the way!" Lissa says, looking over at me. At once, my nerves go on edge, and I try to calm myself down. Emmeryn seems nice enough, she's not going to actively grill me…is she?

"Ah, you speak of your new companion here?" Emmeryn asks, looking over at me. Just by looking at me is enough to actually make me relax. Don't get me wrong, the nerves are still there, I can feel it, but Emmeryn somehow managed that without saying more than a few words.

"This is Ryan King. He fought bravely with us against the brigands, and has suffered his fair share of wounds along the way," Chrom says, motioning for me to step forward. "I've decided to name him as a Shepherd."

Emmeryn smiles a warm smile, and I almost turn to jelly. "It sounds as though Ylisse owes you a debt of gratitude, Ryan King."

"Not at all, milady Exalt," I say politely with a bow.

Then Frederick speaks up. "Forgive me, Your Grace, but I must speak." Oh boy, here we go… "Ryan claims to have lost his memory, but it is only that: a claim. We cannot rule out the possibility that he is a brigand himself or even a Plegian spy."

"Frederick!" Chrom turns to the Great Knight, looking mildly insulted.

I groan, massaging the center of my forehead. "Seriously? Frederick, if I wanted to hurt you, Chrom, or Lissa, do you think I would've waited?" I turn to Emmeryn. "Milady, I assure you I have no intentions of hurting you or your siblings. In fact, I owe Chrom my life."

Emmeryn pauses for only a moment before turning to Chrom. "You allowed him into the castle, Chrom. Does this man have your trust?"

"Yes. He risked himself for our people," Chrom replies without hesitation. "That's good enough for me. And while he does have unique…abilities, he has only used them to defend us and our fellow Ylisseans."

"Abilities, you say?" Emmeryn asks. Please don't ask for a demonstration, please don't ask for a demonstration... "Well, Ryan. It seems you've earned Chrom's faith, and as such you have mine as well."

"Thank you, milady. I assure you, your trust is not misplaced," I say with another bow. Frederick doesn't appear all that convinced, but again, he decides to let it slide, at least for now.

"But thank you, Frederick, for your prudence, as always," Emmeryn adds, giving a smile to Frederick. "Chrom and Lissa are blessed to have so tireless a guardian. I do hope they remember to mention that from time to time…"

"They occasionally express something akin to gratitude, Your Grace," Frederick says, bowing respectfully. I fight down a laugh by biting my upper lip. "Phila, I assume you've heard about the deathly creatures we encountered, yes?"

"Yes, milord. They've been sighted all across Ylisse," Phila nods. "Chrom, we are about to hold council. I was hoping you could join us."

"Of course," Chrom nods.

"Aaaaand I think that's our cue, Ryan!" Lissa says brightly. "C'mon, there's a place I want to show you."

"Before you go, Lissa, I think you might want to take Ryan to see the tailor first," Chrom stops her for a moment. "I don't know about you, but I have a feeling he's going to need a fresh set of clothes."

"Sure thing," says Lissa, before she takes me by the hand and pulls me out of the castle.

* * *

For a girl who's younger than Chrom, and probably younger than me by a good margin by extension, Lissa has a pretty firm grip and doesn't lack in strength at all. She practically drags me out of the castle, down into town, through the streets, and around more than a few corners until we come to a stop around what I figure is the east side of town.

"Let's just hope she's in…" she peeks inside the store, and then waves me in. "Come on in, Ryan!"

I step inside. The inside of the shop doesn't appear all that much different from what I was expecting…but then all of a sudden, a female figure with dark red hair and red-brown eyes popped up right in my face, staring at me with all the curiosity of someone looking at a snake in the reptile house of a zoo. This naturally makes me jump back. "What the hell!?"

"Sorry about that, I just wanted to get a good look at my new customer. I'm Anna," she says, extending a hand. I naturally go to shake it, but when she grabs my hand, she flings me off towards a corner of the shop. "So, Lissa, I take it you want me to help this poor unfortunate soul out?"

"Yup! Chrom wanted me to get some new clothes for our newest Shepherd!" Lissa says happily.

"You two know each other, I assume?" I ask Lissa as Anna whips out some measuring tape, measuring me in ways and places I wouldn't even know where to begin.

"Anna's one of the best tailors in town," Lissa says. "My friend Maribelle introduced her to me last year and trust me, Maribelle would irate if she knew I went somewhere else."

"Am I going to be meeting this Maribelle later?"

"Pretty sure. She is a Shepherd, after all!"

Anna finally breaks off, tapping her chin thoughtfully. It's the kind of thing I would expect to see from a chess grandmaster trying to feign stupidity right before she drops the hammer and declares checkmate six moves into the match. "You know, Lissa, I've actually got a set up in the loft that I've been reserving for just this occasion! I'll be right back!" With that, she zips upstairs faster than I've seen most dogs chase balls.

"…okay, whatever she drinks in the morning, I need a sample," I say to Lissa.

"Oh, she doesn't drink anything. She's just very motivated by money," Lissa replies.

I chuckle. "I guess she would be."

Suddenly, Lissa's face grows serious. "Ryan…that Phantom in the forest. He called me a Gate and seemed _really _interested in me. Do you know anything about that?"

Oh yeah. Kinda forgot about that.

"Well, if I remember my Wizard lore correctly, a Gate is a human with any kind of magical potential. Theoretically, a Gate can either become a wizard or a Phantom, depending on the circumstances," I reply.

"So those Phantom things took interest in me because I'm a Cleric and I use magic?" Lissa asks. "And by putting me in despair, I end up…turning into one of them? Or are they just chauvinistic and prey on me because I'm weak?"

"That's how it goes. Phantoms try to increase their numbers by finding Gates and trying to make them feel despair. But it's not enough to just make them feel bad," I nod. "Usually they try do something that makes them just…completely fall apart. When they feel nothing but despair, that's when the transformation starts…and that's what I try to prevent."

"So that's what the Kamen Rider Wizard stuff is for?"

"Exactly," I say with a smile. "Because I've inherited Wizard's power, it now falls on me to do what I must to save Gates from despair any way I can. And through that, I have the power to turn despair into hope."

Lissa nods understandingly as Anna quickly zips back in, carrying a few items in her arms, and shoves me towards a cover nearby. "Alright, here we go!"

The next few minutes I can barely remember as I'm forced out of my clothes with breakneck speed and into my new ones, Anna speaking to herself (or to me, it was hard to tell), and eventually I come back into Lissa's view. Looking down on myself, I see now I'm wearing a white long-sleeved shirt, a blue tunic over that, a pair of brown leggings, and a pair of boots, which actually feel very good considering the shoes I was wearing earlier were flat-soled and not meant for covering long-distance. I was also wearing a pair of fingerless gloves, which covered up that brand I had on the back of my hand. I had to say, I liked the look.

"Hmm…not bad…but I think there's still something missing," Anna says, before she tosses me a coat. The coat is black with a combination of red, yellow, blue, and green lining on the hem and around the shoulders, and the inside is silver a la Infinity Style. What catches my attention, however, is that on the front on the right side the insignia for Kamen Rider Wizard, which is the symbol at the center of Wizard's magic circle: a dragon curled around the design of Wizard's mask. I don the coat, ready to ask where it came from, but Lissa's already handed her a bag of coins as payment and we're already on our way out.

Anna. I'd better remember that name, because she clearly knows something I don't about this whole Kamen Rider business.

* * *

Lissa leads me back through the city back up into the north side of town, where we reach a large building not far from the road leading back up to the castle. The insignia on the top of the building is a large blue shield with two angel wings on it. By the look of it, I was about to enter into my new digs. Once I stepped inside, I was greeted by the sight of two people: one looked like a Fighter with short blonde hair slicked back, wearing nothing but armor on his right arm, a chain necklace, and a pair of blue leggings, casually holding onto an axe. The other appeared to be another Pegasus Knight, this one wearing a maroon dress with a purple chestplate and what looked like a hairpiece in the shape of wings in her long brown hair.

"Here we are! Welcome to the Shepherd's garrison! Go on, make yourself at home," Lissa says.

The garrison had the feeling of a base, but with only a handful of people it seemed to be wide open, with stone walls and barrels of ale stacked across the way and sacks of…well, I'd say food laid out in stacks around the walls. There were tables around, some with a few other people I could barely make out in the back, but the others empty.

"Lissa, my treasure! Are you alright? I've been on pins and needles!" One of those figures, upon hearing Lissa, suddenly dashes right over. She's a young woman with hair in long curls much like Emmeryn earlier, although not as long as the exalt, and in her hands is a folded parasol.

"Oh, hey, Maribelle!" Lissa says happily. Wait, that's Maribelle?

"'Oh, hey' yourself!" Maribelle counters. "I've sprouted 14 gray hairs fretting over you!"

"Aw, you worry too much! I can handle a battle or two!" says Lissa. "…aside from the bugs and the bear barbecue…"

"You missed out, Lissa. It was pretty good," I say, unable to resist poking at her a little. She simply glares at me.

"Hey, squirt! Where's Chrom?" asks the Fighter. "I bet he had a rough time without ol' Teach and his trusty axe!"

"Oh, so you're 'Teach' now, Vaike, is that it?" asks Lissa. "Hee hee! And here I thought people were just born lacking wits! It can be taught?"

"Ha! Never doubt the Vaike…wait, was that an insult?"

"Hah!" I snort. "Now THAT is funny!"

Vaike turns to me, looking about ready to tear me a new one, but the Pegasus Knight in the corner comes in before any blows are thrown. "Beg pardon, but when can we see the captain?"

"Poor Sumia…she's been beside herself with concern," sighs Maribelle. "Her eyes were scanning the horizon all day during training…she might have earned fewer bruises fighting blindfolded."

"Aw, Sumia, that's so nice of you to worry about Chrom," says Lissa.

"Worry?" Sumia asks, going red in the face. "He's our captain and our prince! Of course I'd worry!" If you probably couldn't tell, Sumia was definitely harboring feelings for Chrom. That might be helpful down the way…

"So, who's the stranger?" asked Vaike, looking towards me. "Is he a new guy like that Archer who showed up earlier with Sully?"

"No one's stranger than you, Vaike," Lissa cracks, earning another glare from the Fighter. "But this is our newest recruit! He joined yesterday, and he's going to be our new tactician!"

"The name's Ryan King. How's it hanging?" I ask.

Vaike grins broadly, Sumia nods her greeting, but now it's Maribelle's turn to glare at me. She's obviously not taking to my choice of words all that great.

"You should see some of the tricks Ryan's got hidden up his sleeve!" Lissa continues.

"Oh, really? Can he do this?" asked Vaike. He proceeded to take a deep breath…and then proceeded to give off a belch that probably could've gone on for days if he had the lung capacity and loud enough to shake the foundations.

"I'm sure I've got plenty to learn in the art of belching, 'Teach,'" I grin.

"Ugh, Vaike, that was abhorrent!" Maribelle rounds on Vaike. Sweet Jesus Helsinki Christ, are those _flames _erupting behind her!? "Must you baseborn oafs pollute the very air with your buffoonery!? And you, Ryan! Don't encourage him! I'd hoped you were cut from finer cloth!"

I glare at Maribelle over my glasses. "Hey! Free tip, Maribelle: giving me lip? It's a _really _bad idea." Unfortunately, my attempt at intimidation doesn't exactly work as she simply leaves with a "hmph!"

"Don't take it to heart, Ryan. Maribelle warms to people slowly," says Sumia.

"Or burns too quickly!" cracks Lissa. "But yeah, just give her time."

I take a breath to calm myself, adjusting my glasses. "Yeah, I guess…"

That's when Chrom returns, entering in through the doorway. Sumia brightens up like a Christmas tree. "Ah! Captain! You've returned! I was…I mean…we were so…" As she stammers her way through, she accidentally slips on a few pieces of parchment on the ground. But she doesn't just slip, she falls and faceplants about as hard as I did in the forest last night, probably even harder because she's hitting stone.

"Ouch. With a capital O," I observe.

"Sumia, are you alright! …those boots of yours again?" Chrom asks.

"No! I mean, yes! I mean…" she starts, and then blows out a sigh. Personally, I think the boots she's wearing fit just fine on her, so she's probably just that big a klutz. Not the first time I've heard of it, honestly.

Chrom lets it pass. "Alright, listen everyone: tomorrow morning, we'll be marching to Regna Ferox."

"Regna whatnow?" I ask.

"A unified kingdom to Ylisse's north. Inhabited by barbarians, or so it's said," Sumia explains.

"Warriors are what they are, and with these new menaces that have been popping up, we'll be needing their strength," Chrom continues. "Typically, the exalt would request such aid in person. But given recent events…well, the people might worry should my sister leave the capital, so the task has been passed to us. Now, this mission is strictly voluntary, so if, for any…"

"I volunteer!" Lissa cuts in, raising her hand.

"Me too! You'll be needin' ol' Teach along for such a delicate mission!" booms Vaike.

"I'll go as well," says another voice, but it's rather soft and I can't pinpoint it right away. I eventually pick out the source, which belongs to, of all people, a Knight, with white and yellow armor and black hair cut bowl-style.

"Who are you?" I ask a little bluntly.

"You actually saw me!?" the Knight asks in surprise. "That's a first…I'm Kellam. I've actually been here the whole time…"

"Kellam, huh? I'm Ryan, I'm the new guy in town," I extend my hand, which Kellam shakes whole-heartedly. "And Chrom? I'm in too."

Sumia, however, doesn't appear all that thrilled. "I…um…"

"Yes, Sumia?" asks Chrom.

Sumia jumps slightly. "It's just that…I'm not sure I'm quite ready for a proper mission just yet. I'd probably just get in the way."

I purse my lips, musing on the situation. "If it's alright with you, Chrom, maybe Sumia can stick to the rear in the main group and she can simply observe if we get into a tango?"

"A sound plan, Ryan. You're starting to get the hang of this," Chrom nods. "But a word of advice, Sumia: some lessons can only be learned on the battlefield."

"W-well, if you and Ryan think it wise, Captain," Sumia nods.

Chrom smiles. "Just stay by me and you'll be fine."

"Oh yes! I mean…yes, I will, Captain!" Sumia nods again, vigorously this time. Huh, maybe my earlier idea of putting Chrom and Sumia together might just work…

The rest of the day was largely uneventful. I took a much-needed nap in the barracks after skipping sleep to get to Ylisstol, and dinner was mostly talk about the trip to Regna Ferox, which, by the sound of it, is some place very cold. Great. Just great. Cold and I are not the best of friends. I just hope that coat Anna found is heavy enough to get me through, or I'm gonna be a popsicle.

When I get up the next morning, something flops out onto the floor: my jeans. I didn't have a place to store them for the moment until I had something to keep them in, so I had left them on my bed for the time being. As I look down, I see that there's something in the back pocket. There's time for breakfast before we leave, so I reach inside and pull it out.

I recognize it at once: it's my wallet.

My wallet somehow survived the trip over and I completely forgot I had it in all the Kamen Rider/Phantom/zombie business. I open it, making my way out of the barracks and towards the mess hall. All of my stuff is in there: driver's license. College ID card. Social Security number. Even my library card is in here. There's even money in it, twenty-five dollars' worth. I go for my driver's license first, and sure enough, it's still the same as it was when I last checked. I pull out my driver's license. Yup. Picture of me, there's my name, there's my address…

My head suddenly lurches as it throbs. My address…yeah. I live in California, in the United States of America. I'm from the desert, which is why I hate cold weather so much. I check the date of birth. So if I'm doing my math correctly, I'm…Jesus Helsinki Christ on a pogo stick, that makes me older than most of the Shepherds by a pretty good margin. The only person roughly my age would be Frederick.

"What'cha got there, Ryan?"

I look up, and realize that Lissa is waiting for me in the mess hall. Something good is cooking in the kitchen… "Oh, hey, Lissa. Are those muffins I smell?"

"You know that's not answering my question, right?" Lissa asks as I take a seat at the table. Sure enough, on the table is a plate full of muffins.

"Sorry, I'm just a sucker for muffins," I say as I grab one and take a bite. Blueberry. Blueberry muffins. Hallelujah. "You were saying?"

"I was wondering what you had in your hand there," Lissa said, looking at my wallet curiously.

"It's my wallet. I found it in my old jeans when I woke up this morning," I reply, flipping it open for her. "And all my stuff is still in there."

"Cool," Lissa says, taking it and looking it over. "Have you learned something about yourself from anything in here?"

"A fair few bits…" I say.

"Like…"

"Nothing important. Just learning more about where I'm from and how old I am."

"And how old are you?"

I'm going to regret this, I just know it. "…according to this, I'm twenty-three."

"…you're old."

YOU DON'T SAY? "Oh ha ha."

"Come on, I couldn't resist!" Lissa giggles.

I groan, taking another bite of blueberry muffin. I have a feeling Lissa's going to be the end of me before too long…

* * *

After stuffing myself with some muffins (and keeping a few in my coat for the trip with my wallet), I go back to the barracks, pack my things, and head out through the north gate of the city, down the road up to the foothills leading north up into the mountains, which is where Chrom said everyone was to meet before we head out on the trip to Regna Ferox. Chrom, Lissa, Sumia, Virion, and Vaike are already waiting, but Kellam was nowhere to be found. I figure he'll be right with us.

"Is everyone ready? We've a long march ahead of us," says Chrom.

"W-wait for us!"

I turn around, expecting to see Kellam, but instead another Cavalier comes in, with green armor much like Sully's and short brown hair that looked a lot like mine. Also astride his horse are two other people, one is a young girl with blonde hair wearing a short blue dress kinda reminiscent of Sumia's but no breastplate, and a man with wavy red hair, dressed in a white and red coat and a ruffled ascot kind of like Virion's. What stands out about him is his right hand, which has the appearance of a gauntlet, colored red and green.

My head throbs. Something is telling me I've met these two before, the girl in particular. Lissa notices and opens her mouth, but I wave her off before she says anything. It doesn't stop Chrom, though. "Ryan, are you alright?"

"I'm fine…it's nothing, Chrom," I say, trying to tear my focus back to the Regna Ferox trip.

The Cavalier coughs, trying to get back on topic. "Anyway…why were we the last to hear about this expedition to Ferox?"

"Huh? Vaike was supposed to…" Lissa begins, then realizes what happened. "Vaike! Did you forget to tell Stahl about our mission!"

"The Vaike never forgets! …I just don't always remember, is all…" Vaike counters. Chrom sighs, Lissa groans, I facepalm. This is probably what Gordon Ramsay feels like all the time.

"I swear, you'd forget your own name if you weren't constantly saying it yourself!" Lissa says. "Speaking of which, are you sure you remembered your axe this time?"

"Hey! That was one time!" Vaike counters. "…okay, twice, but training sessions don't count. Anyway, I got it right here. Teach is loaded and ready for action! Glad to have you along, Stahl, ol' buddy."

"That makes one of us," Stahl deadpans. "I was in such a hurry, I had to miss breakfast! There were muffins, and cakes…"

"And pancakes! Don't forget the pancakes!" the girl remarks, and my mind lurches again. I seriously know this girl from somewhere, but I can't place her in my head!

"That too," agrees Stahl. "Anyway, I'll tell about while we march."

"Sorry about that, Ryan. This is Stahl, one of our finest. As for the other two…um, Stahl, who are they? I never met them before, actually," Chrom says.

"Well, the truth about that is that their story is a little…you know…" Stahl says, scratching the back of his head.

"Crazy," the male says.

"Yeah, crazy," Stahl nods.

"I suppose it can wait," Chrom sighs.

"Anyway, my name is Regan," the girl says. "And this is my…ahem…business partner, Ankh." My headache returns with a vengeance. Stop it, head, I know you're telling me I know this girl, but can it wait!?

"I'm Ryan," I say, holding out my hand. Regan shakes it, and so does Stahl, but Ankh simply turns away. Guess he's not exactly the friendly type.

"Hello, Ryan. Miriel told me we had a new Shepherd," Stahl says.

"Miriel? Who's that?" I ask. I don't remember meeting a Miriel at any point since I got to Ylisstol.

"Er, Miriel's one of our mages. She should catch up soon."

However, further conversation is cut short as Frederick suddenly shows up with Sully, coming in full pelt. I guess they were out scouting the road ahead, and whatever made them come back so fast, it couldn't be good. "Milord! Enemies on the path ahead!"

"What!? Stand ready, everyone, and follow me!" Chrom motions, and the group dashes down the road, Regan and Ankh included. As we crest atop a few nearby hills to reach the road north, I can clearly see a number of those zombie things from our adventure in the forest. And they weren't just limited to Fighters and the odd Mercenary, this was a complete force of enemies.

"These things again? Oh, come on!" I say.

"Ankh, are your friends up to no good again?" Regan asks.

"No, these are not the works of a Greeed," Ankh shakes his head. "This is a power far, far worse."

Greeed. Greeed? Why does that sound so…

OOO.

Kamen Rider OOO.

Ankh is a Greeed, from Kamen Rider OOO. Then that means that this Regan girl has to be Kamen Rider OOO…right? I don't see the OOO Driver anywhere on her person. In a way, I kinda hope she's not, because if she is, I really don't want to think about the consequences of multiple Riders in one place, and that may be more trouble than the zombies.

"Gods!" shouts Chrom angrily. "Have the Risen spread this far?"

"Risen? Is that what we're calling them now?" I ask.

"We needed a name for this new threat, so the council gave them one," Frederick explains. "Hence, Risen."

"Everyone, remember what we're up against!" Chrom says, drawing his sword.

"Mya ha! They'll remember me once I drive my axe into their…" Vaike begins, and then stops, looking around wildly. "Wait. My axe. Where's my axe?! I had it a second a go!"

"This is no time for jokes, Vaike," Chrom deadpans.

"I'm serious! It's gone, but I just had it!" Vaike insists. "It's got be around here somewhere…"

"Keep to the rear, then! The battle is nigh!" Chrom shakes his head. Vaike groans and makes his way into the back with Virion, Sumia, and Lissa. "Ryan, now would be a good time to start displaying your abilities!"

I reach into my coat pocket, producing my Driver On Ring. "I'm on it, Chrom!"

"Huh? What's he gonna do?" asked Sumia.

"You'll see!" Lissa grins. "It's really cool!"

**DRIVER ON! PLEASE!**

My WizarDriver appears, to the surprise of Vaike and the others. Regan and Ankh seems to be taking particular interest in me, and it's a little unsettling. Nevertheless, I shift the WizarDriver to the left, don my Flame Ring, and say the magic word.

"HENSHIN!"

**FLAME! PLEASE! HI! HI! HI HI HI!**

More than a few "oohs" go out from the Shepherds as the magical circle crosses my body, turning me into Kamen Rider Wizard. Unable to let the moment pass, I swirl the trenchcoat and proclaim proudly. "Alright then! Let's get this show on the road!"

"Whoa! That is something!" Vaike says, nodding in approval.

"Kamen Rider Wizard…I like the sound of it!" Stahl agrees.

I look over at Regan and Ankh. Regan is smiling like a loon, which isn't the reaction a person who's never seen a Kamen Rider form before should have, and Ankh is glaring at me in a way that felt reminiscent of Frederick glaring at me on the trip to Southtown from…wherever they picked me up. Does Ankh actually perceive me as a threat? That could be problematic.

"Regan, what's that look for?" Stahl asks.

Wordlessly, she produces a buckle and holds it at her waist. A belt shoots around her, fastening itself to her body as she hands out her hand. "Ankh, medals, please!" Ankh opens his mouth, but she simply looks at him and says. "Ankh, they need our help, so let's give it to them. Medals, please!"

Ankh glares at her, clearly not at ease with the whole thing, but produces three coin-like objects, one red, one yellow, and one green. She must have sensed the look of surprise behind my mask, because she grins even wider as she takes a circular device from her side, shifts the buckle down…

"HENSHIN!" she says, and scans.

**TAKA! TORA! BATTA!**

**TA-TO-BA! TATOBA TA-TO-BA!**

An image of the three medals appears before her, combining to form a single circle that becomes her armor, depicting a hawk, tiger, and grasshopper. A red and black helmet with green eyes appears on her helmet, yellow and black chest plate with claws, and black and green legs.

I knew it. Regan is Kamen Rider OOO. And once again, everyone is shocked.

"So wait, there's two of them?" asks Lissa.

"Who are these guys we picked up!?" asked Stahl.

Chrom says nothing, just looking at me expectantly. All I can do is shrug. I mean, I had a hunch she was OOO, but how she got here is just as much a mystery of how I got here!

Frederick clears his throat, getting everyone's attention (thankfully) off me and Regan. "Alright, everyone, listen up! _Especially _those of you brought your weapons!" Vaike flinches at the statement. "Our mission is simple: destroy all the Risen! They're barely half a day from Ylisstol, we need to cut them down now before they get within spitting distance of the city! If you see that they are being led by an armored figure that is different from the others, notify me, the prince, or Ryan at once! And keep your ears up, Ryan and Chrom will be issuing orders for this battle! Understood?"

Everyone nods, their faces a picture of professionalism. "Very good. Now let's get to work!"

Chrom nods. "Thank you, Frederick. Ryan, do you have a strategy ready?"

I look out over the enemy forces, and immediately I can see a Mercenary, and a Ruffian spread out up ahead. I have a feeling there's another Risen in one of those forts up ahead, but I can't see them from there. There's other forces out across the bridge, but they're too far out to identify yet, so I'll have to adjust the plan once we're there. It'd help if I had something to help me see the battlefield from the air...hey, wait a minute!

"Okay, here's what we're going to do," I say, checking my ring belt. There's no sign of the Garuda Ring, or any of the rings for the PlaMonsters for that matter. Dammit! "Frederick, take the Mercenary on the left. He's hiding in the trees, but he shouldn't be too much trouble for you."

"Understood!" Frederick nods and goes galloping off.

"Now this part we have to improvise a little. Mostly because _somebody _forgot their axe," I say.

"Hey, I'm sorry, alright!?" Vaike shouts indignantly.

"Anyway, Sully, you'll take Lissa and go straight down the middle! Stahl, Virion, go with her," the two Cavaliers nodded as Lissa and Virion boarded their horse and galloped off. "Chrom, you and I will take that Ruffian on the right. Vaike, Ankh, Regan, stick with us, and be ready to back us up!" I go to my ring belt and don the Connect Ring.

**CONNECT! PLEASE!**

I pull the WizarGun from Elsewhere, taking off with Chrom towards the Ruffian, Regan, Ankh, and Vaike right behind. The Risen growls, hefting its axe and charging right back us. I start opening fire, shooting bullets as fast as the WizarGun can allow. I figured it would stagger back under the fire, but the more I shoot the faster it seems to charge. "Chrom, take it now!"

Chrom roars, zipping forward in a flying lunge. The Risen tries to attack as well, but Chrom is faster, catching it in the side. As its body goes back under the strike, OOO's Tora Arms activate, claws extending over her arms as she slices multiple times at the Risen's body. As that happens, I break left, aiming the WizarGun for a few headshots. Between these attacks, the Risen falls apart easily under the assault.

Chrom motions with his off-hand, urging us forward to regroup with the others down the middle. As we go, I can see that three more Risen have joined the fray, two Soldiers and another Ruffian. Sully and Stahl are good, but their weapons will put them at a disadvantage, and Virion's bow isn't going to be all that great at tipping the scales. Now I _really _wish Vaike hadn't lost his axe.

"Sully, Stahl! Back off! Frederick, Virion, cover them!" I shout, firing away with the WizarGun as we come back across into the fray. The Cavaliers back off, Virion and Lissa right behind. One of the Soldiers breaks off from Stahl and goes after me, another goes for Regan and Ankh. I shoot some more, but the bullets ring off its shield as it lashes out, the point hitting the chestplate. Once again, the armor absorbs the worst of the blow, but I can still feel it on my body, trying to get through my sternum. Grabbing the lance haft, I try to blast him with a couple of shots in the face, but he blocks with his shield again.

"Get away from me!" I snarl, smacking the lance away before executing a back leg sweep, tripping the Soldier. As he falls, I switch to Sword Mode, step on its shield arm to trap it, and then stab the Risen in the face, destroying it. OOO activates its Tora Arms again, knocking way the lance with one set claws and then another with a stab from the other.

Down near the center, the Ruffian continues pursuing Sully, jumping and landing a solid chop right across her torso. A third Soldier goes after Stahl, and he can't get away in time as a lance pierces him on his side. Virion launches an arrow at the Soldier, catching him in the shoulder but not enough to take him out. If I don't do something quick, they're gonna get overrun!

I swap my Flame Ring for the Hurricane Ring and shift the Driver to the left.

**HURRICANE! PLEASE! FU! FU! FU FU FU FU!**

My armor shifts to Hurricane Style, quickly shifting back to Gun Mode. "Chrom, we need to try and take those Risen out. If you charge from over here, I'll zip ahead and try and distract them for you. Regan, use your Batta legs to jump into the middle of those guys and start laying waste to them, I'll cover you from the other side!"

"Right!" Chrom nods, taking off back towards the road. OOO's Batta Legs glow, and she goes airborne, arcing over the Risen's heads. I gather magic around myself, lifting slightly off the ground, and take off into the fray. As Chrom catches one Risen by surprise and takes it out with his sword, Regan pounces on the Ruffian's back, slashing away with her claws, as Frederick comes galloping in like an avenging angel and stabs into it with its lance, finishing it easily. I pass them both, going for the Soldier who's pestering Stahl, shooting at the zombie. It twists its head around at the sound of the WizarGun, and then raises its shield, blocking the bullets before the rest of its body spins. But before it can launch a counterattack, it suddenly spontaneously combusts, vanishing into the air.

"What the…" I begin.

"It appears my timing was chronologically advantageous." A woman dressed in a black Mage's robes with floppy hat and all comes over. She has neatly trimmed red hair and glasses, and is carrying a red magical tome. Okay, I understood what she was saying, but who the hell talks like that?

Stahl seems perfectly happy to see her, though. "Hey, Miriel! Nice timing!"

"Is that not what I just said?" Miriel asks.

"Agh…never mind," sighs Stahl.

"Very well," the woman said, adjusting her glasses. "Next question: who among you was foolish enough to leave their axe behind?" she holds up an iron axe, which a certain someone who I won't mention recognized instantly.

"Hey! My axe!" Vaike dashed over, taking the axe from Miriel. "Thanks, Miriel! …er, for the axe, anyway."

Miriel sighs. "I was wondering what manner of ignoramus would mislay their weapon. And now I know. Perhaps next time I'll use a spell to fasten it to your hands…permanently."

"Would you? It'd make things so much easier," I say, shouldering the WizarGun.

"Hey, I said I was sorry!" Vaike glared at me.

I just shrug at him in response before turning to everyone else. "How's everybody doing?"

"I took a bit of a nasty hit, but Lissa was right on top of it and helped me out right away," Sully remarks. Lissa beams at this.

"I'm okay, mostly…" Stahl said. "Nothing a little vulnerary can't fix." Already he was applying the salve to the stab wound he'd received.

"Chrom? Regan? Virion?" Regan flashes me a thumbs-up. Chrom signals he's okay, and Virion does the same. "Good, good good…where's Ankh?"

"Over here," Ankh says, probably speaking for the first time since I met him. He's off near Regan, and still feeding me that glare. Ankh is capable of this despite being a Greeed, I know that, but I'd like to know why!

"Regan, I need your eyes. Use your Taka Head and tell me what you see across the bridge," I say.

Regan nods, the green eyes on her helmet turning red as she leaned forward to see the enemy. "I see…seven enemies. Two axe guys, two sword guys, two lance and shield guys, and the leader, with an axe, waaaay in the back."

I nod, patting her on the back. Frederick is now giving me that stare he was giving me before, and now I've got both him and Frederick looking at me, all bent out of shape, once again. Because THIS is what I needed to deal with right now, right? Chrom also seems to be a fair bit suspicious, but he at least puts it aside. "Right. What next, Ryan? Guide our swords."

I clap my hands, closing my eyes. This is easy enough, but I want to make sure my composition is still up to par. Six foes, carrying two lances, axes, and swords apiece. I have plenty of lances and swords of my own, but only one axe user. Granted, I also had a Mage and an Archer on my side, so I'll need to use Virion and Miriel to tip the scales.

"Okay. Sully, Vaike, Virion, Stahl, and Regan. You will head left. Virion, I want you to pair up with Stahl again, back up from the rear, and be careful. The rest of us will head right!" I say. "Pick your targets and use your weapons to your advantage! Lissa, stick to Frederick, I need you to watch for anybody that might need a healer."

Sully and Stahl, with Virion riding Stahl's horse, gallop ahead of their group, Sully taking on the Mercenary first. Meanwhile, Chrom goes after the Ruffian as Frederick gallops after the Mercenary as I stay behind with Miriel. "Miriel, we're going for that Soldier while the others handle the rest. I'll draw his attention and attack him. While he's distracted, I want you to blast him with magic."

"Can you assure that you will be out of danger when I do commence my attack?" Miriel asked briskly.

"That, and if I have the right Ring on me…I can also hold him back for an easier target…" I look down out my ring belt, and locate a ring with a dragon's head and a series of chains. "Ready?"

Miriel nods, preparing her Fire tome as I dash at the Soldier, blasting away with the WizarGun. Once again, the Phantom raises its shield in defense, blocking the shots, but as it stabs forward, I jump high, launching right over its head. As I do, I go Sword Mode and fling it at it. As it knocks away the weapon, I've already swapped out my Connect Ring with the new one.

**BIND! PLEASE!**

Spinning around, I point the glowing ring at him as several green chains of whispering winds launch out of the ground from smaller magic circles, holding him down. "Miriel, now!"

Miriel waves her hand and points. Just like before, flames erupt from the Phantom, and it roars, unable to escape its burning fate, at least until I zip in and smash it with a jumping front front kick, which sends its head flying like a soccer ball back towards the bridge, where it and its body vanished.

"Impressive. If I could fashion a hypothesis, I would assume that there is some kind of magical enhancement of your armor," Miriel said.

"What?" I blink. "How'd you figure that?"

"Your body size and structure strike me as someone who lacks the strength of someone who could perform such a feat, save for maybe Lord Chrom," Miriel explains. "Therefore it stands to reason your armor must also enhance your body's natural abilities to perform such feats."

She's actually correct. Kamen Riders in general are meant to be stronger than usual humans by a mile. Most Kamen Riders in their starting forms alone can clear a three-story building in a jump with ease, run the distance of three football fields in a few seconds, and punch and kick with literally tons of force. Points to Miriel for being able to surmise this just on observation, but with the way she talks, I get the feeling she needs some time outside the mad science lab...or whatever it's called in Ylisse.

The Risen Chief is all that's left, and the others are all done with their fights. Thankfully, nobody appears hurt, so now we can finish this in one fell swoop…

"RAAAAH!" The Chief suddenly comes barreling in, full pelt, at us, axe swinging. Ankh shouts, but Regan's already moving away as I try to take the blow with the WizarSword. It somehow goes flying out of my hand as it breaks right through the parry and strikes me right across the chest for a direct hit. I don't know if it's because of Hurricane Style's weak, defense or because this thing's a stronger variant of the Risen than the others, but DAMN this one hurt! I'm pretty sure I'm bleeding a bit more heavily under the armor.

Chrom run in as Lissa, covered by Frederick, dashes once again to my rescue, giving me a boost with her staff as Regan also dashes in, wielding OOO's sword, Medajalibur, but even she goes down under a powerful strike. Chrom is faster, though, and dodges this time. As he does, he appears to notice something. "Ryan, this Risen…it's different from the rest! There's some kind of gray material on its body!"

Gray material? Phantom? No, Phantom transformations are marked with purple cracks in the body. No, this was the mark of a-

"A Yummy!"

"Yummy what?" Stahl asks Regan, which earns a facepalm from Sully.

"Chrom, that Risen is being turned into a Yummy! We need to take it out now, before it becomes a fully-fledged Risen-Yummy hybrid or something!" Regan shouts as Stahl gallops in, attacking the Risen to get it away from Sully, only to receive a chop that makes him fall off his horse, clutching at his neck. Once again, Lissa takes off to help him. I cover her movement to make sure the Risen doesn't try a funny move.

"How long will it take for it to become a full…what'd you call it, Yummy?" Chrom asks Regan.

"If Kazari is the one behind this, then usually it's a couple of days," Ankh is the one who answers, however. "But the rate it's growing, it may be quite sooner than that…!"

"Oh for the love of…" I groan, rolling away from the Risen-Yummy and grabbing my WizarSword. "Got any more Medals in that arm of yours, oh mighty business partner?"

"A couple, but I have a feeling they're useless…" Ankh shakes his head. Why do I feel like he's lying?

The Risen-Yummy goes after Frederick, and probably for the first time since I met him, Frederick grunts in pain as he stabs the Risen Chief with his lance, which hurts him but not all that much. Regan zips in, swinging Medajalibur once again, actually inflicting damage on the thing before she has to get away from another axe strike.

"Let's see if I can go two-for-two," I say, scanning the Bind Ring again.

**BIND! PLEASE!**

Wind chains appear once again, trying to restrain the Risen-Yummy, but one roar and the chains snap easily, this time going for Vaike. Vaike leaps back, as Miriel unleashes another Fire spell from behind him. The Risen-Yummy staggers back from the flames, allowing me to attempt going Gun Mode and shooting at him, but the Risen rounds on me and actually dropkicks me to the ground, before getting back to its feet to attack Chrom, who backflips away from it as I try to distract it with more gunfire, which gets it away from Chrom, but I have to wind-jump away from it to avoid getting a second helping of its last strike on me.

I land next to Regan, trying to think of a plan. "Regan, you have any Cell Medals?"

"None. Why?" she replies.

"Just trying to figure a way out of this situation." The Risen-Yummy goes after Sully, who actually charges headlong at it, and the two end up missing each other.

"How do you know Cell Medals will help this situation?"

"I don't."

"Let me rephrase that. How do you even know what Cell Medals are?"

I open my mouth, but then I realize my blunder. Even though I knew what Kamen Rider OOO was and what he dealt with, I never voiced any of it. It was all in my head. And now I've given away my secret.

"Let's just say I'm familiar with a bit of Kamen Rider lore," I say evasively.

Regan appears to buy into it. "Really? I had a brother who was kinda into all this Kamen Rider stuff, but I never really cared until I ended up in this whole mess."

My mind throbs, harder than before. Memories start flashing before my eyes right as the Risen-Yummy charges again, this time at me. I air-jump once more, and Regan tries to block with Medajalibur. The flashback screws with my landing as I land flat on my back, and Regan is flung back under the Risen-Yummy's strength. Virion finally gets involved as he fires an arrow, which is largely ineffective.

Regan. Regan. Who is this Regan and why do I know her? I know Ankh, if only because he's related to this whole Kamen Rider business, but Regan? Right from the word go, I recognized her, but not remembered her. What a paradox. If only there was some kind of clue that could be the missing link to finally put the mystery to rest.

Chrom dashes by me, swinging his sword, trying to attack the Risen-Yummy from behind. He lands a solid hit, but as he turns around and blocks the axe strike counterattack, the Risen-Yummy suddenly roars even louder, shedding its Risen body as it appears, wrapped in bandages, only to cast them off and reveal a new form: a lithe mountain lion armored form, with insanely long claws on its fingers. The resultant transformation was enough to knock Chrom back, although he keeps his footing.

Well, things just got worse: we now had a full-fledged Yummy on our hands.

Regan swings Medajalibur, trying to find a weak spot in the Yummy to attack, but its arms are too long and she's overpowered in a short fight. Chrom backs off as Miriel and Virion attack, which does nothing. Oh joy, they're just as impervious to regular weapons as Phantoms are. I quickly swap out my Hurricane Ring for my Flame Ring.

**FLAME! PLEASE! HI! HI! HI HI HI!**

The ring barely had passed over me as I start shooting with the WizarGun again, dashing at the Yummy. This time, the weapon appears to be effective as sparks fly off its body and a couple of Cell Medals come off. I smirk, going Sword Mode and whip around, dodging slashes and kicks as I try a dropkick, which he blocks, but as he tries to slash at me as I try getting up, but as I do, it suddenly convulses and a single Cell Medal falls on my head. Hold on-!

"Regan! Catch!" I grab the Cell Medal, rolling away from the attack and I toss the Cell Medal in her direction, and she catches it. "Chrom, get over here and grab some Cell Medals!"

"Cell Medals?" Chrom asks.

"The little silver things! Get them to Regan!" I say, picking up the WizarSword once more.

Chrom nods. "Got it!"

The Yummy roars, slashing at me and raking against my armor. My Flame Style armor is stronger than my Hurricane Style armor, so it's not as heavy, but the Yummy's claws rake against my chestplate right where its Risen host had hit me earlier, which gets me to start bleeding again. Chrom grabs a couple of the Cell Medals and then slashes at the Yummy's back, causing more Cell Medals to fall as he tosses some at Regan. She quickly grabs three of them and whips out Medajalibur, inserting the medals inside.

"Hey, Ryan! Feel like lending a hand?" Regan asked, grabbing the O Scanner and scanned the middle of the blade. "I got a desire to kick some butt!"

**TRIPLE SCANNING CHARGE!**

As Medajalibur lit up with three light blue circles before being cloaked by energy, I activate the WizarSword's Hand Autor.

**COME ON A SLASH, SHAKE HANDS! COME ON A SLASH, SHAKE HANDS!**

"Then let's bring down the curtain, Regan!" I say, scanning my Flame Ring. "Virion, Miriel, try to box him in!"

**FLAME! SLASH STRIKE!**

The Archer and Mage immediately move in, Virion firing an arrow to open for Miriel as she casts Fire, the explosion of flames cutting off the Yummy's escape route. Flames erupt down the blade of the WizarSword as I prepared for my own finisher.

"SEE-YAH!" shouted Regan, swinging Medajalibur for the OOO Bash. The world seemed to tilt just a little as the strike nailed the Yummy. At the same time, I unleash the Flame Slash Strike, slashing to unleash a wave of fire at him. Between the two Rider Slashes, the Yummy flailed as it exploded, scattering Cell Medals all over the place. Ankh immediately dived on the Medals like a vulture, grabbing as many as he could.

"Hoo...and that's the end of that..." I sigh, my armor vanishing.

Regan's armor also goes away, looking rather smug. "Another victory for Regan and Ankh! Come on, Ankh, high-five!"

Ankh gives her a rude gesture, still gathering Cell Medals. I chuckle.

"Finally, and good riddance!" says Chrom, sheathing his sword. "But...if they're appearing this far up the Northroad..."

"Then no road is safe. We must be cautious," Frederick nods.

I pull out some vulnerary, rubbing the salve on my body where that Yummy had slashed at me. It stings a little, but it should do the trick. "Everyone still up?"

"Pretty much. Stahl's neck wound was pretty bad, but I was able to heal him before he lost too much blood. Only thing he's complaining about now is that he's hungry," Lissa says.

"Typical Stahl, then," Chrom says before turning to me. "You actually did very well leading us today, Mister King. You're definitely showing your skill in tactics."

"Thanks, Chrom," I say, before I realize that Regan is staring at me as Ankh also comes over, having procured his Cell Medals. "Something wrong, Regan?"

"Your last name is...King, right? So that would mean your full name is Ryan King, right?" asks Regan.

"Yeah...why do you ask?" I ask, almost fearing the result.

For a moment, Regan stands there, comprehending my answer. Then, she's gone, and she full-on glomps me to the ground.

"Oh my God it is you I can't believe your actually here and I'm so happy I think my face is itchy but I don't care I actually FOUND YOU!"

A very confused Chrom comes over, deciding in his mind if he wants to help me or if he just wants to watch. Finally, he helps get Regan off of me, which allows me to get up. "What in the pluperfect hell was that?"

"Ryan, don't you recognize me?" Regan asks, eyes shining with happy tears. "It's me, Regan. Your sister."

Regan? Regan is my sister? I have a sister named Regan King?

Suddenly, my mind makes the connection. She _is _my sister. I do have a sister.

Who's also a Kamen Rider.

The next thing I remember is falling over and blacking out.

* * *

When I come to, we're back on the road again and I'm in one of the carts that works with the supply convoy. After getting my glasses Sully tells me I haven't been out long and that Chrom's moved on ahead with Lissa. Surprisingly, Regan isn't there to greet me, but as I look around, I see Regan talking animatedly with Sumia and Ankh not far away. As I walk past him to catch up with Chrom, he glares at me, balancing the Taka Medal between the fingers of his Greeed hand. He's clearly harboring something against me, but I don't have time to deal with him. I pick up my pace, reaching Chrom and Lissa further up the road.

"Ryan! Back on your feet already?" asked Chrom.

"I was just shocked, it's not like how I was after Southtown," I reply. "I wasn't expecting to remember my own sister, let alone meet her and have the two of fight together as Kamen Riders."

"Well, while Lissa was trying to bring you around, your sister and her friend filled me in on everything that happened," Chrom explains. "Apparently they ended up in a village not far from Ylisstol a couple of days ago, right around when we found you. The village they were staying in was attacked by a Yummy, which according to Ankh, are creatures created by the Greeed. Ankh gave Regan the means to become Kamen Rider OOO to fight it until Stahl and a retinue of Ylissean knights came in to resolve the situation, and Stahl offered her and Ankh the chance to be Shepherds. The rest, as you know, is history."

I sigh. "Greeeds, Yummies, Phantoms, and Risen. We seem to be racking up enemies pretty fast."

"I know," Chrom nods. "But you handled that Yummy very well, you and your sister. As long we have you two, I'm not worried."

I smile, bolstered by Chrom's trust. "Thanks, Chrom."

As we continue further up, I suddenly see something large off to the side of the road. "What is that?"

"Is that what I think it is?" Lissa asks.

We eventually reach the thing, which is revealed to be a pegasus. By the look of it, it might have belonged to an Ylissean pegasus knight, as its armor is white and blue with gold accenting. And by the scratches on its flanks, this pegasus just got out of a fight with something, probably other Risen. Right now, the creature was grazing, although it stops when it sees us coming.

"It's a pegasus, alright. I think it's hurt..." Chrom observes. "Let's just have a look here..."

"Okay, but be careful, Chrom, we don't want to spook it..." I say.

Chrom nods, starting to approach the pegasus, but the creature rears, causing Chrom to back off. "WHOA! Down girl! Easy there!"

"Captain, one moment!"

I turn around, and there's Sumia and Regan, having apparently followed us up the road. As they come over, Sumia promptly trips and faceplants once again.

"Oof, felt that one," I observe with a wince.

"Sumia! Are you all right?" asks Chrom. "...those boots of yours again!"

"No! I mean, yes! I mean...ugh..." Sumia says, getting up and dusting herself off.

"Well, whatever it was, you might want to stay away, this pegasus is a more than a little spooked," I say.

"It's okay, Mister King. I can handle this," Sumia insists.

Chrom and I exchange a look before we step back, allowing Sumia to try. "Ssh...easy now, girl. I won't hurt you."

The pegasus snorts, raising its wings threateningly to make Sumia back off, but Sumia stands her ground, slowly advancing until she holds out a hand against its nose. At one touch, it appears to relax.

"Well done," I nod.

"That's incredible, Sumia!" says Lissa.

"I've never seen anything like it," agrees Chrom.

"Oh, it's...it's nothing. Really," Sumia says, blushing redder than Ankh's coat. "I just have a way with animals, I guess."

Chrom smiles. "I should say so!"

"...you all can go on ahead," Sumia says, checking over the pegasus's wounds. "I'll dress her wounds and catch up as soon as we're able."

"We can make time to wait for you," says Chrom.

"Thank you, Captain. But I can manage," Sumia shakes her head. "Every moment is precious when Ylisse is in danger."

"Sumia's right. I know you said we can make time, but Regna Ferox isn't coming to us," I concur. "We need to get rolling ASAP before Plegia sends more brigands to stretch out Ylisse's forces even more."

"Right then. Be safe, Sumia," Chrom eventually acquiesces.

"As you command, sir."

And so the Shepherds carried on, minus Sumia, but with the addition of Regan and Ankh, I wasn't unduly worried. Besides, I imagine pegasi are faster, what with them able to fly and all. And most of those wounds were minor, so assuming Sumia does her job right, she might catch up to us before we enter Regna Ferox proper.

But now that I have to worry about the Greeed up to their usual tricks in this world along with the Phantoms, things just became more complicated.

I'll need to be wary like Frederick, for my sake...as well as my sister's.

* * *

(_Play: Regret Nothing - Tighten Up by Shu Watanabe)_

**_On the next Fire Emblem - Rider Awakening!_**

_"Enough secrets, Mister King. What are the Kamen Riders?"_

_"I hate cold. Seriously, I hate cold."_

_"Hey guys, don't look now, but we've got guys moving on the walls!"_

_"The only interest I have is keeping you out of Regna Ferox, brigand!"_

_"Oh, gods, another one!?"_

_"You'll pay for threatening my sister, you dreadlocked cenobite!"_

**Up Next: Chapter 3 - Warrior Realm!**

**RIDERS, ENGAGE!**


	5. Chapter 3: Warrior Realm

**It's here! It's here! **

**Thanks, everyone, for being so patient. But this has been a tough chapter to write and Civ 5 has become my new favorite timesink of late. But, here's the new chapter of Rider Awakening nonetheless.**

* * *

**Chapter 3 – Warrior Realm**

After leaving Sumia to tend to the wounded pegasus, we carried on up the Northroad, where the rolling plains of Ylisse gave way to the foothills. Further up the road I could see it taking us through the foothills up into the forests. And judging by the snow at the top of the mountains just barely visible on the horizon, we were going to be headed up through at least few inches of snow by the time we reach the border. According to Chrom, it was going to take another half a day to reach the border of Regna Ferox, so we decide to camp just outside the entrance to the pass for the night.

Huzzah.

Dinner tonight is apparently some kind of lamb stew and plenty of vegetables. It's actually not that bad, despite never having had any lamb in the past. I sit around the fire with Vaike, Stahl, and Sully. Stahl is already on his second helping. I can claim having a larger appetite than most, but Stahl must have a hollow leg or something, because I don't think I've seen anybody go through food as nearly as I have. Looking across the fire, I can also see Regan and Ankh, Ankh still giving me that glare. They're sitting between Chrom and Miriel, and like Ankh, Frederick is still giving me that stare. Thankfully, Vaike, Sully, and Stahl are chatting animatedly about the previous battle, so it's not like we're all sitting and eating in silence.

And then, Vaike asks the question.

"So, what is the deal with the Kamen Riders, eh?"

Frederick and Ankh snap to attention, looking at me, and realize Vaike is asking me that question. "Um…why?"

"Well, we actually asked your sister and her 'business partner' what the deal is with Kamen Riders and she said she didn't know all that much and Ankh wouldn't answer," Vaike continues. "So naturally, we should ask another Kamen Rider what the deal is with Kamen Riders."

I look at Regan questioningly.

"What? I only know one thing about Kamen Riders and that they right wrongs and triumph over evil," Regan asks with an innocent smile and a shrug. "I don't know about any of the history of Kamen Rider, I just know how to kick butt."

I groan. She does have a point: I'm pretty sure that, between the two of us, I'm the only one who knows what they're talking about. I will say my knowledge on the subject of Kamen Riders is pretty extensive, but how am I going to explain that Kamen Riders is a Japanese TV show when these guys haven't even discovered steam power yet? I sit there, musing for a minute before I decide on my next words.

"Okay. Okay. I think I can explain what Kamen Riders are."

"Yes. Enough secrets, Mister King," says Frederick, despite Chrom giving him a funny look. "What are the Kamen Riders?"

Okay. Here we go…

"Kamen Riders are heroes from our world," I begin. "If you want to think about the idea of Kamen Riders and where they come from, I think the best way to describe it as…well, something akin to a very long story."

"…what, like an epic?" Chrom asks. "Like the stories we hear of people like the first Exalt in his war against the fell dragon Grima?"

Holy crap, Chrom just threw me a lifeline. "Yeah, yeah, exactly!"

"Are there a lot of epics surrounding Kamen Riders?" asks Sully.

"Well, let's see…the epics of Kamen Rider started appearing in our world some forty-one years ago and still continue today. In that time, there have been twenty-three different Riders."

"Twenty-three Kamen Riders…" says Vaike, a grin on his face. "You know, the Vaike wouldn't mind being a Kamen Rider if he was given the opportunity…"

"Well, that's the thing. That number, twenty-three? That's all the main Riders, the protagonists of each one. Once you start adding things like side characters who are Riders themselves and evil Riders, then that number goes up considerably. Kamen Rider Ryuki told of a war between thirteen different Riders, for one, and I lost count of how many there are in Kamen Rider Hibiki," I say.

Frederick leans towards Chrom, saying something I can't hear to him. Chrom then asks, "And do all Kamen Riders fight monsters like the Phantoms, the Greeeds, and the Yummies?"

"Each Rider has a particular enemy that they fight," I answer. "While I know that there's at least twenty-three Riders, I don't have info on all of them. Most of my knowledge goes back to the last fourteen Riders, and each one fought a specific monster."

"Is it possible more of them, like the Phantoms or the Greeed, are here in Ylisse or beyond?" Frederick asks.

"I wouldn't know," I shake my head. "Given the mysterious nature of how Regan and I both showed up on the same day with two different Rider powers, I wouldn't know if there are others, but if there are, I'm pretty sure I'd be able to identify them, for the most part."

Chrom nods in understanding. "I see. What do you think, Frederick? Satisfied with his answer?"

Frederick nods, but his face doesn't change. He still doesn't trust me, obviously, but most of the fundamental questions about Kamen Riders have been answered. "For now."

"Well, that's okay then," I sigh. I sneak a look at Ankh. Like Frederick, his face hasn't changed. Knowing Ankh, he suspects I might be a bad influence on Regan or screw up any plans he deigns important.

Chrom yawns. "I don't know about the rest of you all, but I'm worn out after today's events. I think we should go ahead and retire for the night. Get some rest, everyone, we're going to be moving out early tomorrow."

"And wrap up warm when you do, guys, because unless that white stuff is dandruff on those mountains, it's gonna be cold outside," I add.

This time I fall asleep rather quickly, but when I do, I kinda wish I hadn't.

* * *

"_Are you alright?" Chrom dashes over. _

_Oh God. Not again._

"_Thanks to you, we carried the day. We can rest easy now."_

_My head throbs. My vision goes red. _

_"Ryan, what's wrong!? Talk to me, friend-ulk!"_

_Blood washes over me. Chrom staggers back, clutching at AxCalibur in his stomach._

"_CHROOOOOOM!_"

* * *

I shoot awake in a cold sweat. Am I going to see this dream every time I go to sleep? Murdering the man who took me in with his sister and all his friends in cold blood right at the cusp of victory? This is gonna be a long night. No doubt about it. Taking a peek outside, I see that the only person awake now is Sully, who's currently on watch. Maybe I should consider asking Chrom to take watch, but after spending nearly a full day awake after the incident in the forests south of Ylisstol, I'm turned off the thought.

I return to my bedroll, staring up into the glimmering red ring that is my Flame Ring as I try to remember more about myself. Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to me much more than what I've learned recently, which is my name, age, a general idea of where I'm from, and that I have a sister named Regan. Do I have other siblings? Another sister? A brother? What about my mother and father? Why don't I remember them? There's a ring of truth to the thought that I have a mother and father _somewhere,_ probably back home in wherever California is, but if I know I have them, why do I not have a name or a face to go with it…

I turn over, reaching over and stuffing the Flame Ring back in the pocket of my coat nearby. Amnesia sucks.

* * *

The next morning, I munch on one of the muffins I took with me yesterday for breakfast. While taking more of those muffins to snack on later seemed like a good idea in theory, unfortunately the muffins didn't exactly travel well and became rather dry upon biting into one. Great.

As we continue up the forest trail, the scuff of dirt beneath our boots begins to turn to the crunch of snow under our boots, and the temperature steadily drops. Strangely enough, my coat is apparently heavy enough to keep me warm (more or less), and I quickly test the material: it feels kinda like suede. Regan has managed to pilfer Ankh's coat from him, so she's warm enough, and even though Ankh is more human than most other Greeed (thank you, Kamen Rider knowledge), he doesn't seem all that bothered by the cold, although he's kinda mad about something: Regan probably made him give his coat to her.

Typical Regan: honest girl with a good heart, but also very good at getting what she wants. She'd be a great politician.

"Brr!" Lissa, unfortunately, wasn't so lucky, and already she was shivering in the snowy weather. "F-F-Frebberick! I'm f-f-freebing!"

Frederick simply chuckles. "Stand beside my horse, milday. She'll shelter you from the wind." Wait a minute, Frederick's horse is a mare? …well. Learn something new every day. "Ah. Here we are."

Looking forward, there's a large stone wall barring the path, and a gateway locked by a large steel portcullis. It's an imposing sight, made with some kind of combination of white and brown stone, sandstone or granite, possibly. It stands high above us, probably a good twenty or thirty feet into the air, and built like castle walls with ramparts and battlements on the inside. Pretty effective border control, in my opinon.

"So on the other side of…whatever this huge thing is," Regan pipes up. "That's Regna Ferox?"

"Yes. This is the Longfort. It's a large fortress that stretches across the border of Ylisse and Regna Ferox," says Chrom.

"The khans that rule Regna Ferox have grown quite wary of foreigners," adds Frederick. "Still, don't mistake a lack of hospitality for open hostility. This simply calls for a bit of diplomacy."

Ankh just rolls his eyes. "When you put it like that, it almost sounds like these 'khans' don't have any sense of diplomacy at all. I figure we should just tell these humans who are garrisoned here who we are, what we want, and if they get in our way, beat them to within an inch of their lives or until they let us in, whichever comes first." As you might have guessed, more than a few of us decide to stare at Ankh for suggesting the thought of practically invading Regna Ferox by breaking down the doors of the Longfort. The Greeed merely shrugs. "What? If you want something, you should speak plainly and not take no for an answer."

I remove my glasses, kneading the bridge of my nose in exasperation. "Ankh…do us a favor. Shut up and let Chrom do the talking, alright?"

Ankh glares at me. Chrom scratches the back of his head at this. "Negotiation's not my strong suit, but I'll do my best. Remember, everyone: your actions here reflect back upon Ylisse."

As Chrom moves ahead of us towards the barred gates of the Longfort to get the attention of the soldiers up on the wall, suddenly Regan perks up, looking up at the walls. "Uh, guys, don't look now, but we got guys moving on the wall."

I look up, and sure enough I can see Soldiers armed with Javelins and Archers on the move up on the wall. That's not good. Already we're getting the attention of the Feroxi army, and these guys are ready to load up for a bombardment…and we're sitting right in the kill box. Still, can't let them give us any motive to attack us…

"Frederick? Any ideas why?" Chrom asks.

"Who can say? But they look ready to let fly at a moment's notice," Frederick says. "We'd best prepare for combat, just to be safe," Frederick says.

"Belay that," I counter. "Let's not give them any more reason to attack us. Everybody relax, no itchy fingers." Despite this, I still don my Driver On Ring and my Hurricane Ring, just in case I have to transform and jump clear of possible incoming attacks.

Eventually, a woman in heavy armor carrying a lance and a shield appeared over the wall. "Halt! Who goes there?!"

"May we ask who asks?" I call up.

"I am Raimi, captain of the border guard of Regna Ferox!" the woman snarls. "And I am the one who asks the questions, not you!"

I put up my hands. "Okay, fine, geez…"

"In the name of House Ylisse, I seek audience with the khans!" Chrom takes over.

"Not another step, my bold lad! I've lancers at the ready!" Raimi shouts.

"We can see that," Regan snarks.

"Hold, milady!" Frederick says. "We are not your enemy! Exalt Emmeryn herself sent us to discuss matters of mutual interest!"

"My only interest is keeping you out of Regna Ferox, brigand!"

"Brigands!?" Frederick asks, insulted. "Now see here…"

"You think you are the first 'Ylisseans' to try and cross our border? I have the authority to fell such impostors where they stand."

That's very interesting. Ylisse has been dealing with Plegian bandits to start a war, and Regna Ferox has been dealing with Ylissean bandits? Emmeryn doesn't strike me as the kind of person to try those kinds of underhanded tactics, but if Plegia is capable of the same...that could explain why, but first we have to explain ourselves to this Raimi chick.

"How dare you!" Frederick continues. "You are in the presence of Prince Chrom, the exalt's own blood!"

"Ha! Yes, indeed…and I'm the queen of Valm!" Raimi snorts.

"What, you want us to come up there and prove it? We can, you know!" I shout.

"You do realize impersonating royalty is a capital offense, yes? Mmm…then perhas we should settle this the Feroxi way." Oh, that's not good. "You claim to be the prince of Ylisse? Then prove it on the battlefield!"

Chrom groans. "Emmeryn won't like this at all…"

"Yeah, I know, but it sounds like sounds like negotiations are over…" I said. "Regan, get ready to engage!"

Regan nods, donning the OOO Belt as she holds out her hand. Ankh hands her the medals for the TaToBa combo as I scan the Driver On Ring.

**DRIVER ON! PLEASE!**

"Please, good lady, if you'd just listen…" Chrom begins, trying to maintain the fleeting peace.

"I've heard quite enough! Attack!" Raimi shouts, waving her lance. A whole slew of the Archers and Soldiers gathered around her, four of the Soldiers coming up and launching their Javelins right at Chrom and the rest arcing over towards the Shepherds.

"Chrom, hang on!" I shift the Autor over and scan the Hurricane Ring. "Regan, now! HENSHIN!"

"HENSHIN!" Regan echoes, scanning her medals.

**HURRICANE! PLEASE! FU! FU! FU FU FU FU!**

**TAKA! TORA! BATTA!**

**TA-TO-BA! TATOBA TA-TO-BA!**

As I dash forward through the magic circle, transforming into Wizard, Regan goes OOO, Tora Arms activating as she knocks a couple out of the way while the rest of the Shepherds scattered away from the rest. Meanwhile, I'm swapping out Rings, going for the Connect Ring. Chrom prepares himself, arming himself with his sword, but he's not going to have enough time to wait where'd he go!?

I air-jump high and slightly forward, winds carrying me up on a trail of green magic and snow away from the Javelins that would've skewered me or Chrom. The soldiers start shouting in surprise, clearly having not seen a Kamen Rider before, but their voices go away quickly until it's replaced by…flapping?

"Sumia…" I hear Chrom say in awe.

"Better hold on tight, Captain. Could get bumpy."

Looking around, I suddenly spot Sumia, Chrom riding right behind her on a familiar pegasus, and my mind suddenly makes the connection: she's the one who saved Chrom, and right in the nick of time. I concentrate, flying alongside her in my little snowy dust devil.

"Sumia! Nice timing!" I shout.

Sumia looks away, embarrassed. "Thanks, Mister King."

"Uh…right. Nice timing," Chrom blinks, suddenly regaining his voice.

Sumia gives a small chuckle, turning to him with a smile. "You'll be fine." Chrom blinks, his mouth slightly open. Jesus Helsinki Christ, is it possible…

Suddenly, another Javelin zips right past my helmet and I look over. There's a few Knights on the ramparts, and they're also armed with Javelins.

"Chrom, get back to the others! I'll try and cover you!" I shout.

"Sumia!" Chrom shouts, drawing his sword.

"Right!" Sumia and her Pegasus bank hard left, back towards the Shepherds on the ground as I dive down, rolling through my landing as I go after the Feroxi Knights. I'm a little iffy with using my Kamen Rider abilities on regular human soldiers; it kinda feels like cheating. But, I can't have these guys sniping Chrom and Sumia on the way down.

One Knight charges at me, actually moving a bit faster than I would expect someone in two-inch thick armor to be moving, Javelin bared. I use my bracers to block the incoming strike and then bop him on the top of his head before I axe kick him away. The next Knight tries to attack from my side, but I swing my outstretched leg up and around, spinning around into a drop stance, turning the point of the Javelin away with my hand as I flop to the ground, kicking up to snap the man's weapon in half with my foot. The third Knight dashes in, but I scissors kick around his weapon, getting to my feet and landing a couple of solid punches on the man's chest, the armor plating buckling under the strikes before shove him away Leonidas style with my foot. As more Archers and Soldiers come to try and attack, I quickly make my exit, leaping off the wall and then using the wind to slow my fall. Back on the ground, Sumia and Chrom have also landed safely nearby.

"Oh, Captain, I'm so relieved I made in time!" Sumia says.

Chrom still looks kinda amazed that this Sumia who saved him also the same Sumia who constantly trips over herself, but quickly composes himself. "That goes double for me, Sumia!"

"Hey, is this the same pegasus you rescued earlier?" asks Regan, making her way over to the Pegasus. This time, the pegasus didn't try to scare her off like it did with Chrom. "And it didn't try to kick me?"

"Oh, she's a sweetheart, isn't she?" cooed Sumia, ruffling the pegasus's mane. "Once you really get to know her."

Chrom nods, sliding off the pegasus. "Well, many thanks to you both."

"I think the pegasus is blushing!" giggles Lissa, as the pegasus gives a snort as if to say "you're welcome."

Suddenly, another Javelin came flying through the air, hitting the ground between Chrom and Sumia. Sumia gives a small "eep!", nudging the Pegasus to the left in surprise.

"And I think we had best focus on the situation at hand!" says Frederick.

I nod. Looking around, already more than a few Feroxi soldiers were on our way. "Yeah, this could turn out to be a problem quick. Chrom, anything you want to get out of the way real quick before we get turned into Feroxi kabobs?"

"Just try not to kill them," Chrom says. "We don't need Feroxi blood on our hands when we reach the khans. Find the enemy commander and we can end this! If they want this the Feroxi way, then let's give it to them!"

"Sounds good!" I shout, going Gun Mode. I then fire some shots up towards the ramparts, causing the soldiers to scramble for cover. "Chrom, is there any way up that wall that you can see?"

"There's a couple of staircases outside the gate on either side, probably used to maintain the gates to the Longfort. We'll take one group and head left, Frederick and Regan will take the right!" Chrom said.

"Sounds good!" I nod. "Frederick, Regan, you'll take Stahl, Lissa, and Miriel. Miriel, are you going to have any trouble using that fire magic trying to scare off anybody on the battlements?"

"Not after a few adjustments," Miriel says briskly.

"Good. Chrom, we'll take the rest and head left," I say, shifting to Sword Mode. "Virion, I'll need you to keep an eye on the wall as well. If you see anybody crawling around up there, give them a warning shot."

"Certainly!" Virion says.

"Then let's get this show on the road!" I shout as we split off. Vaike and Sully take the lead up front, Vaike hallooing loudly as he pounces on a Knight with an Ylissean take on a Lou Thesz Press, smacking the Knight's helmeted head with the handle of his axe multiple times as Sully takes down an Archer that is stalking Sumia with the butt of her lance. I go after another Archer alongside him, feinting with a lunge before spinning the blade in my hand as I swing out with my foot, the outside stretch kick snapping his bow in two.

As Virion dodges around a second Knight's lance, he finally reaches the stairwell. But right after he goes up, he comes back down. "I've found a way up, but they've locked the door, the confounded Feroxi!"

Dammit. It's never that easy, is it? "Check their bodies! One of them is bound to have the key! Chrom, lend a hand here…Chrom?" Chrom, despite being in the midst of a battle, seemed to have frozen, his sword prepared to fight some other enemy nearby. Thing was, there was only two Archers and two Knights, and most of the enemy on the battlements had left to reinforce the gates. "Seriously, Chrom, what the hell are you doing? We're on the clock!"

"Why do I feel like I'm being watched…?" Chrom asked.

I open my mouth to tell him to forget it, but then my sixth sense catches up with me, and I could feel someone else watching…and he was relatively close.

"Um, sir? …Sir! Right here, sir!"

"Who's there!? Show yourself!" Chrom shouts.

"I'm standing in plain sight, sir. Right he…"

"BWAAH!" Chrom jumps a mile high, and so do I when I see the humongous armored figure right next to us, his armor barely visible in the snow. Then, I realize who it is.

"Kellam!? Jesus Helsinki Christ on a pogo stick, don't scare me like that!" I say.

"Sorry, Ryan. I didn't mean to scare you. I just have that effect on people, you know?" Kellam shrugs.

"Kellam, when did you arrive?" Chrom asks, having managed to get his heart under control.

"The same time as you. I've been with you all along. Er…I AM still a Shepherd, right?" Kellam asks. "It's quite the honor, after all. I'd hate to lose it. Sometimes I…"

"Of course, Kellam. Forgive me," Chrom says. "You're just so…quiet, I completely…"

Kellam smiles knowingly. "Quite alright, sir, quite alright. I've been told I'm easy to miss."

"Consider yourself lucky the Feroxi didn't find you first, though I doubt they could hurt you with all that armor you've got," I say.

"Well, I have been calling to you and waving my arms for several minutes…" Kellam shuffles his feet. "I don't think they've so much as glanced this way." SERIOUSLY? Most Knights make more noise than shotgun shells and ball bearings in a tumble dryer, and yet this guy could give Solid Snake a run for his money!

"You almost sound disappointed," Chrom sweatdrops.

"Well, I just…I'm glad you finally saw me. Just try to keep an eye out from now on?"

I clap Kellam on the back, something that I nearly regret given how unforgiving that steel plate of his is. "Don't worry your little head about it, big guy. I got plans for you. Now then, anybody found that key?"

"Found it!" says Sumia happily, holding aloft a key in her hand over the body of one of the knocked out Archers. She then took two steps back towards her pegasus and faceplanted. Yet again.

"Oh, that's gotta hurt," I wince.

"Sumia, are you alright!?" Chrom dashes over. "…those boots of yours again?"

"No! I mean yes! I mean…oh forget it!" Sumia says, dusting herself off.

"I got an idea!" I say. "Sumia, give Kellam the key."

"Okay!" Sumia nods, lobbing the key over towards the Knight, who catches it.

"Now, Kellam, I need you to get up those stairs and unlock the door," I say as I lead the way towards the narrow stairway up into the fortress proper. "Once it's open, I want you to turtle up."

"Turtle…what?" Kellam asks.

I facepalm…or helmet-palm, take your pick. "Just stay put and don't let them get through. With your armor and weight, you can keep them occupied while I get in there and clear the way for the others to get in behind you.

"How?" Kellam asks. "it's not going to be easy getting up over…this."

"I have my ways," I say mysteriously. "Now go on, we're right behind you!" Kellam nods, dashing through the fire up on the wall as I fire back with the WizarGun, past Virion and up the stairs towards the locked doors at the top of the stairs. "Now remember, when those doors open, they're gonna be all over you. Just hold tight and let me do my thing. Ready?"

Kellam nods.

"GO!" Kellam jams the key in and turns, and the doors fly open. Already a few Soldiers attack, but Kellam raises his shield, blocking all of them as I air-jump over Kellam's head, shifting from Gun to Sword as I whistle to get their attention. "Over here, gents!"

Two of the Soldiers break off from Kellam and make their way towards me, attacking me with their lances. I split apart their lances with my bracers and then smack them in the gut as they close in, putting them both on the ground. Kellam takes the third and shoves him away with his shield, and I proceed to stretch kick him on the back of the head to take him out. Flashing a thumbs-up to Kellam, I dash to the ramparts and gesture for everyone to come up before trying to get a peek over at the progress on the other side of the wall in search of Regan and the others, but while I can't see them, I do see a handful of Feroxi soldiers attacking something on the other side of the wall; Regan and Frederick probably found another gate to get in through.

And then, something pounces on me from the back, flattening me like dough under a rolling pin.

"I will have your head, brigand!"

Oh, right. Raimi. Thankfully, Vaike and Kellam come dashing to my rescue, Vaike charging in first with his axe. Raimi steps back, getting off of me as she blocks with her shield as Kellam's lance strikes her armor, forcing her further back. Freed from the weight of someone wearing plate armor stepping on my back, I roll back towards the Shepherds headed my way and then scissors kick my way back upright. As I do, Chrom joins me, Falchion in hand.

"Ryan…look at Raimi. Does that look familiar to you?"

Raimi snarls, knocking away both Vaike and Kellam. As I do, I see the telltale marks of gray on her skin. "Jesus fish, she's turning into a Yummy. REGAN!"

There's a faint yell of "what!?", but then Raimi comes barreling at us like a freight train, so I can't shout a warning to her as I leap clear, preparing the WizarSword as Chrom has his own sword ready. "Damn..."

"Two Yummies, appearing within two days of each other?" Chrom asks. "That does not bode well…"

"I'll say," I concur.

"Let our battle sound out the truth of your words!" shouted Raimi, smacking her lance against her shield.

"That said, that also does explain why she didn't want to just check to see if it was really us. The Yummy is probably forming from her desire to protect Regna Ferox from brigands," a voice says behind me. I check behind me and find Ankh resting against the ramparts as if nothing was happening. "Zealotry is an ugly thing."

"Very astute, Professor Ankh," I snark. Sully and Sumia charge with their lances to cover for Vaike and Kellam, but a shove by Raimi's shield knocks Sully off her horse, and Sumia's lance…smacks across a part of her armor and actually pierces a bit of the Yummy infection? "What the hell!?"

"What indeed…" Ankh says interestedly.

Raimi snarls, clutching at the spot where Sumia stabbed her. Vaike, sensing an opportunity, quickly tries to capitalize, going for a leaping overhead chop, but she blocks it and then smacks him in the jaw, putting him on the ground. Going back to Gun, I start blasting Raimi with bullets, closing the distance, but she shrugs them off and charges me, flattening me with a headlong shield bash. Ankh gets away from the ramparts as Chrom tries to attack with his sword, and much like Sumia's lance, the attack actually cuts into the Yummy formation, making Raimi go after him. Her lance flies out, catching Chrom up high on his arm, causing him to stumble back as he clutches at the gash the lance made.

"Down here!" I shout, firing again from the ground. The bullets ring off the armor, getting her attention off of Chrom as she tries to stab me instead, but I roll away, get back to my feet, and go Sword. "REGAN, I SWEAR TO GOD I AM GOING TO-"

"Here I am!" Regan says cheerfully, finally showing up to the fight as she descends from a jump empowered by her Batta Legs, landing a powerful kick right on the top of Raimi's head, before landing gracefully next to me. She's also adopted the TakaKiriBa combo, as her Tora Arms have been replaced by yellow-green armblades that come with the Kamakiri Medal. So Ankh was lying when he said he didn't have other Medals…the question is, why would he even say that?

"You took your sweet time getting here!" I shout at Regan.

"Sorry, I was checking the other guys, seeing if they had anything else besides a key to the gate," Regan says, using an armblade to knock away Raimi's lance, allowing me to shove her away with a kick…or at least try, but she's been steadily getting heavier since we fought her, and it's been getting harder to hit her.

"What on God's green earth could you be looking for?" I ask.

"I dunno…candy?"

I try to resist the urge to faultdrop. Regan has a tendency not to take things seriously sometimes. That's when Raimi comes, striking me with her lance. This time it hits true, and much like the Risen Yummy from before, the lance hits me right in the chest. And now this one hurts, too!? Unless that pain in my chest is just a trick on my brain…

"Do you MIND!?" I shout, kicking her away as Raimi stumbles back towards the entry of the garrison.

"You alright, Ryan?" Chrom asks. "Shall I get Lissa?"

"I'm fine, it's not bad," I call back, grabbing my fallen WizarGun. That's when Lissa screams.

"Chrom! It's happening again!"

We naturally look over and Raimi is clutching at the rapidly growing Yummy parasite as a wave of Cell Medals washed over her. In her place stood a large armored panther, but her right shoulder was decorated with a pair of horns and seemed to have no fur, but wrinkled skin instead.

"Oh, gods, another one!?" groans Chrom.

"And what's up with the horns?" Regan asked.

Ankh says nothing, but the look on his face says he's got a pretty good idea what might be happening. The Yummy charges again, as everyone scatters to get away, but I'm not fast enough and I'm sent bowling over the ramparts. I hear Chrom and Regan shout as I go flying through the air, smack into a pine tree, and then flop into the snow as the tree falls over behind me with a groan, followed by a loud CRUNCH.

My body is one mass of pain, especially my chest and my back after that George of the Jungle rendition. I pick myself up slowly, breathing to fill my lungs back up with air. Back to normal? Okay, good. I dig the WizarGun out of the snow, I air-jump to the top of the wall. Thankfully, nothing seems to have changed in the past few seconds, except Chrom's picking himself up, sporting some claw wounds on his chest and arms, Frederick, Sully, and Stahl are scattered on the ground separated from their horses, and Regan engaging the Yummy with Medajalibur alongside Vaike, with Virion trying to fire arrows when he can. As for Sumia…well, I don't see her-oh, wait, there she is, flying around to try an attack from the air.

"Hey, everyone, I'm back…" I groan.

"You survived? A normal man would've…oh, wait. Kamen Rider," Chrom says.

"I'm surprised I kept my transformation. Any harder and the armor would've vanished," I reply. "How we doing so far?" My question is answered as Vaike goes flying past me, groaning on the floor. "That bad, huh?"

"It's just too hard to hit," Chrom groans. "My sword and Sumia's lance have barely been making hits, and Regan can only do so much with that sword of hers."

Regan goes flying next, although her landing is more graceful than Vaike's, digging Medajalibur into the ground as she skids across the ground. "That thing's got a wallop!"

"I noticed," I snark.

Sumia dives at the Yummy, lance bared, and again, her attack strikes true, sticking the Yummy in the chest, a few Cell Medals but as she breaks off, she somehow goes flying off her pegasus, still clutching the lance for dear life as the Yummy thrashes, trying to get them both off. "AAAH! HELP MEEEE!"

"Sumia!" Chrom shouts, preparing his sword again. "Hang on, we're coming!"

"Go, man, I'll cover you!" I shout.

Chrom takes off running as I air-jump across the gap, blasting away with the WizarGun. Sumia lets go of her lance, leaving the weapon stuck in the Yummy as Chrom dives in, grabbing her and rolling away as I descend, still firing. And then the wind shifts, and I go flying in a completely different direction, which makes me hit the ground hard some distance away from Chrom and Sumia. It wasn't hard enough to make me dehenshin (thank God), but I look up to find the source of the whole thing: a gray being with some kind of black leather studded armor and clawed gauntlets, standing at the top of the garrison.

Ankh recognizes him instantly. "Kazari…"

"Ankh…so nice to see you again," Kazari says, leaping down as the Yummy comes over to guard him. "I wasn't expecting you to have so many friends…human ones, in particular."

"Cut the crap, Kazari. What are you doing here?" asks Ankh.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm here for the Core Medals that you've stolen from me…not to mention the other Greeed," says Kazari. "I'm surprised you actually chose to work with these pitiful humans, Ankh."

"Times have changed, Kazari," Ankh counters coolly. "Humans are a lot different from the last time we walked the earth. I'll admit, their natures haven't changed in the last 800 years, but they're still different…unlike you."

"No love lost, then," Kazari simply shrugs.

"You…what business do you have, trying to interfere in our affairs?" Chrom asks.

"Oh, nothing in particular," Kazari says coolly, his arms spread. "I just simply want my Medals back. Ankh knows which ones."

Ankh simply glares at him.

"Oh sure, and I suppose you decided to turn Raimi here into a Yummy for no good reason?" I ask rhetorically.

"Ah…the ringed magician, Kamen Rider Wizard," Kazari says. "Interesting meeting you here. The Phantoms don't speak very highly of you."

"I bet…whoa, wait a minute! You've met the Phantoms?" If Kazari and the other Greeed have met Wiseman and his Phantoms…oh, that cannot be good…

"We've had our dealings," Kazari says. "But right now, the only thing that's important right now is getting back my Medals. And if I happen to get rid of you as well as OOO, then I can't quite say NO!"

With that, Kazari and the Yummy charge, the Yummy leading with its horned shoulder. Regan goes to counter the Yummy with the Kamakiri Blades while I shoot for Kazari, but Kazari is faster as he zips by me, slashing with his claws. I stumble around, trying to track him down, but he zips by me again, slashing again on the other side. My breathing's starting to come heavy and now I'm sporting two gashes on my sides, and there's still the fact of how I got bowled into a tree from off the top of the wall. I can't match Kazari's speed in my condition, even with Hurricane Style.

"Time to rock and roll!" I say, swapping my Hurricane Ring out for topaz ring and shifting to the Autor to the left.

**LAND! PLEASE! DO DO DO! DO-DO-DO-DON! DON DO-DO-DON! **

(_Play: Strength of the Earth by RIDER CHIPS_)

A yellow magic circle appears below me, rising up as rocks slam against my body to change my armor, immersing myself in the feeling of sinking into warm sand. Gone is the triangular motif of Hurricane Style and replaced by the topaz squares of the final of Kamen Rider Wizard's initial forms, Land Style. While my speed and jumping height is reduced dramatically, my strength and armor integrity is now much higher than before, and I should be able to take Kazari much better.

Kazari comes at me again. I raise my arms to defend against his claws, which leave a few more gash marks, but it's not nearly as painful as before, and I quickly counter by ramming my knee in his gut, which causes a few Cell Medals to go flying as he staggers back. I take the opportunity to go Sword, swinging my blade to follow up. He blocks the first two slashes, but I quickly go for a butterfly kick, spinning around to smack him across the face.

"You…!" Kazari growls, unleashing another blast of wind. I stay put this time, although I do have to shield myself, which gives Kazari another opportunity to come at me again. However, I quickly extend my arms and wheel around, turning my body to face the opposite way as he passes me by. As he attempts to turn around, I charge and then plant a dropkick on him, sending him stumbling back as more Medals fly off around him. "You think I'm going to let you make a fool out of me?"

"Well, if you're so pissed about it…then I guess I'll do you a favor and end this right now!" I counter, donning the Kick Strike ring. " Time to bring down the curtain!"

**VERY NICE! KICK STRIKE! FABULOUS!**

The yellow circle returns, as I let the energy flow around my foot as this time some sharp stones swirl around my ankle. Here I go again. Cartwheel, backflip, backflip, handspring, twirl, extend the leg… "LAND STRIKE WIZARD!"

Kazari roars, leaping at me to counter, and we both collide in mid-air and hit the ground hard, surrounded by a rain of Medals. For a moment, we both lay there, with me silently praying my armor doesn't shut down on me. After a few minutes, nothing happens, so I take the chance to look around, and one of the first things I see next to me are a pair of Core Medals, one yellow and one white.

"Damn you…this isn't over…" Kazari grunts. Even though we both hit each other, Kazari clearly got the worst of it, as his armor seems to have disappeared and he's quite in a bit of pain. "I'll find you again…and then you and your precious sister won't be so lucky!"

I give him a rude gesture as he limps off. "Yeah, that's right! Walk away! You're gonna pay for threatening my sister, you dreadlocked cenobite!" I'd chase him, but between my condition and the fact we have another Yummy fight, finishing the fight with Kazari will have to wait for another day. I slowly get to my feet, grabbing the Medals on the ground. One looks like a cheetah, the other a rhino…I wonder…

(_End BGM_)

"Ryan! A little help, please!?"

Chrom's shout gets my attention. The other Shepherds are in a sorry state, clearly having issues with this Yummy as most of the group is on the ground, groaning in pain. Chrom, Sumia, Kellam, Ankh, and Regan are the only ones still standing.

"What's the problem?" I ask, grabbing my WizarSword.

"We've deduced…that we can rescue that knight from the Yummy…" I hear Miriel say, finding her collapsed off to my left. "But we can't get it to stay put…to attempt a rescue…"

I look at the Yummy. Regan's fighting it now, or at least trying to fight and not get the same treatment I was, and apparently Sumia's lance is still stuck inside it. Funny, I would've thought that it would've been swallowed up or broken with all the trouble it's had today…unless there was something keeping it there…

"Regan! Try these!" I fling the Medals with an underhand throw, the two Medals spinning in the air. Ankh grabs them, looking at them curiously, and then hands them to her. Jumping clear of another gore attempt, Regan swaps out her Taka and Batta Medals, and then adds the new ones.

**SAI! KAMAKIRI! CHEETAH!**

Regan's helmet and leg armor change. Her helmet is now white with red eyes with a horn on her head, and her green legs are now yellow. She takes off like a shot, a blur of colors that sends the Yummy flying back, Cell Medals scattering, and then reappears on the other side, skidding on the icy stones.

"Wow…that's a rush…!" Regan shouts.

Smiling, I pull out the Bind Ring. Please let me have enough magic for this next maneuver…

**BIND! PLEASE!**

Yes! Stone chains erupt from the ground, restraining the Yummy. "Chrom! Sumia! Now's your chance! Use the lance and pull her out!"

"What?" Chrom asks me.

"Raimi's still alive, she's what's keeping that lance stuck in there! You can use it to pull her out!" I explain. "Now go, I don't know how long I can hold her!"

Chrom nods, understanding what needed to be done, and dashed forward, planting his foot against the Yummy's body and heaving as Sumia grabbed it from the other side.

"Regan, they have a lot of Cell Medals to get through to get her out. Try and help them out!" I continue. Already I was getting a bit of a nasty headache: I had to move quickly or my magic would run out and this opportunity would be lost.

Regan nods, taking off running again. She pulls a u-turn, leaps over Chrom and Sumia's heads, and then starts launching high-speed side kicks, Chun-Li style, on the Yummy, her foot a blur as Cell Medals go flying in all directions. Raimi began to resurface with some pretty incredible speed, whether it was because of Regan's Cheetah Legs or Chrom and Sumia working the lance, I couldn't tell. Even Raimi herself was involved, using one of her other hands to push herself out from the Yummy's grasp.

My headache intensifies. I can't keep this up much longer. It's time for a change-up. "Regan! Pull back and use your Scanning Charge!"

"But she's not out yet!" Regan shouts.

"Trust me!" I counter.

Regan gives me a hard look as I go to one knee, desperately trying to keep the Yummy's bonds on it. She slows down, landing two hard kicks to finish, and then zips back, scanning the medals.

**SCANNING CHARGE!**

At that moment, my magic gives way, and I collapse to all-fours, the Wizard armor vanishing in yellow sparkles. Regan's Cheetah Legs and Sai Head glow, creating a large horn on her head as three circles, one white, one green, and one yellow, appear before her. Chrom, suddenly getting an idea, tilts the lance up and strikes the Yummy on the head a couple of times. The Yummy, free of the chains, staggers back from the attack, which causes the rest of Raimi to come out.

"SEE-YAH!" Regan charges through the rings, Kamakiri blades cutting two swathes before she headbutts him with the Sai Helmet, smashing the Yummy to Cell Medals.

"Well…that was easy…" I crack, rolling over onto my back to look up at the sky as snow begins to fall once again.

* * *

The injuries were mostly centered around the Feroxi soldiers, but nothing too minor, just cuts and bruises. A majority of these guys seemed to be from guys that Sully and Vaike had fought. Raimi was actually not that badly hurt, despite being taken over by a Yummy. As for us, more than a few people would need treatment from Lissa or whatever vulnerary we had in storage with the convoy from the Yummy attack. As Lissa happily reported to me, we were mostly going to be fine, but in my case, I was going to be sporting some lovely bruises on my back in the morning.

"A thousand apologies, Prince Chrom. I truly took you for brigand impostors," Raimi apologizes. "But no frauds could have battled as you have! I will send word of your arrival and escort you there personally."

"That would be greatly appreciated," Chrom nods. "Thank you."

Raimi nods and then proceeds to take her leave, leaving me alone with Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick. Regan, meanwhile, is back with the others, namely searching the convoy for any more weapons similar to the lance that Sumia had.

"And just like that, her whole demeanor changed. That's something," Lissa nods.

"I suspect she wasn't always like how we saw her before compared to just now," I muse. "Kazari must have started the mutation before we even showed up."

"In Ferox, strength speaks louder than words. I should have known better than to overestimate the value of diplomacy," Frederick says. "And to think, the Greeed was able to pick up on this before I was…"

I simply give him a shrug. "Some people just need a good punch in the face. That's all I'm saying."

"So can we get going, Chrom?" asks Lissa expectantly. And by the way she's hop-skipping in place, she's starting to freeze again, especially that now we have a chilly breeze blowing southeasterly through the fort.

"Yes, it's not getting any warmer," Chrom says with a nod.

"That, Chrom, may be the understatement of the millenium," I crack, drawing my coat tighter around me.

As we return to the rest of the Shepherds, I manage to find Ankh up on top of one of the supply carts. The Greeed is currently staring down at the Cheetah and Sai Medals in his hand. Ankh has no respect for Kazari and hasn't exactly shown any behavior to show he's a double agent for the other Greeed, but Ankh's words about dishonest Greeed and the current nature of his "partnership" with Regan, as she so puts it, makes me uneasy. I mean, Regan may be able to keep Ankh's personality in check for the moment…

"Ankh...there's something I've been meaning to ask you," I say. "Why even work with my sister in the first place?"

Ankh looks down at me, still with that dull glare. "What makes you ask that?"

"Chrom tells me you and Regan met up in the same village," I reply, moving to the other side of the cart, away from the group. "There was a whole bunch of people you could've chosen from to wrangle into being Kamen Rider OOO. And instead you go with the one girl in the whole village who apparently showed up out of the blue, also was dressed like she came out of nowhere, and clearly has you by the Greeed equivalent of balls. Why her?"

"Honestly? Because she's honest," says Ankh, coming down to meet me. "Greeed that are dishonest will stab you in the back because of it. Humans are pitiful and often stupid, but you can read them like an open book. And your sister was the one who seemed to be the most honest about her motives."

"That being she wants to help people?" I ask. "And if she gets to kick a little ass along the way, that's a bonus?"

"Exactly."

"I thought so," I nod. I look at the cart and spot Sumia's lance with the rest of them in the cart, and I quickly grab it.

Ankh gives me a funny look. "What are you doing?"

"Establishing some boundaries," I say. I then grab Ankh by his ascot, and pull him towards me, stepping on his foot to keep him from leaving, and then hold the lance to his neck.

"You idiot! What are you doing!?" Ankh hisses, half-angry, half-shocked.

"It's like you said: dishonest Greeed will stab you in the back ten times out of ten, right? Well, as long as you and my sister are working together, I'm gonna take this opportunity to tell you something very important: my sister is very important to me. She may very well be the only family I have in this world, and I'm not exactly fond of having someone with Virion's fashion sense and all the loyalty of a stray dog being the keys to her survival. So if I get even one inkling that you're playing me, or playing her, I swear to God on high, I will find you and I will smite you with the kind of force that would even make Jesus blanch. Am I clear?"

"Hah…cute." Despite this, Ankh scoffs, and then suddenly, something grabs my neck, choking me. As I let out a few undignified sounds, stepping back as I try to grab at whatever has a hold of my throat. I realize that Ankh's Greeed hand somehow detached itself from his body, spinning me around as he threatens to choke the life out of me. "Let me apprise you of the facts: without me, Regan can't use OOO's power. That turns your sister into a walking target for the Greeed, and I doubt you can take on the Greeed and the Phantoms by yourself. So I suggest if you want to help your sister, you should be a little nicer to me…now, am _I _clear?"

"Crystal…" I choke out. Ankh lets go, satisfied, but I point the lance at his head again. "But I'm watching you, bird boy. Play us false even once and I will kill you."

"What's going on?" A voice sounds nearby, and we find that it's Regan, still wearing Ankh's coat, peeking out over the corner of the cart. "What are you two doing back there?"

"Establishing some boundaries," Ankh says coolly.

"Is something wrong, Regan?" I ask, tossing the lance back into the cart.

"Chrom's looking for you. He wants to make sure we're all packed up and ready. According to Frederick, we'll be able to make it for Ferox Castle by nightfall if we hurry."

Again with the forced march? Frederick seems way too fond of those. "I'll be right with him."

Regan nods and leaves, and Ankh is right behind her, giving me an "I'll-deal-with you-later" look as he leaves. I'm still not so keen on this whole thing: Ankh definitely gives me the vibe that he's clearly trying to stack the deck. Unfortunately, he's also right. I can't fight two wars against two Kaijin and still have room for the Risen, too.

So for now, I'll have to trust Ankh.

…somebody shoot me.

* * *

(_Play: Strength of the Earth by RIDER CHIPS_)

_**On the next Fire Emblem: Rider Awakening!**_

"_You're the…I mean, the khan, I presume?"_

"_In Regna Ferox, the khans hold a tournament once every few years."_

"_Where did you get that!?"_

"_You and me! We're settling this man-to-man!"_

"_Jesus Helsinki Christ, you're a…"_

**Next Up: Chapter 4 – Two Falchions!**

**RIDERS, ENGAGE!**


End file.
